Hitches, Hideouts, & Homicides: A Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery Series
Date: 2019-05-26 00:00:00+00:00
Description: A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery Series has been optioned for film. Welcome to Normal, Kentucky where nothing is normal. A Campers and Criminal Mystery Series is another brainchild of USA Today Bestselling Author Tonya Kappes. If you love her quirky southern characters and small town charm with a mystery to solve, you're going to love her new cozy mystery series!Everyone in Normal is excited for the Hoe Down to celebrate the opening of the new Old Train Station motel grand opening. The evening comes to an abrupt end when a lightning storm knocks out all the power. At least, that's what appear
Publisher: Independently published

Hitches, Hideouts, & Homicides

A CAMPER AND CRIMINALS COZY MYSTERY

Book Seven

BY

TONYA KAPPES

Hitches, Hideouts, & Homicides

“Mae! Someone opened the stall and opened the back barn door,” Coke hollered over the sound of the rain beating down on the roof. “Help me get Rosa!”

My first instinct was to protest. I’d never been around horses before, and the bars between me and the one I was petting was as close as I wanted to get to the intimidating creatures.

“Come on!” she yelled. “I’ll call Jay.”

I nodded. Maybe she didn’t hear me over the rain earlier.

“He’s not answering.” She put her phone away before she gestured for me to help shut the back door where Rosa had apparently escaped from. “Why don’t you go back to the hoedown, find him, and tell him. Rosa will come to him.”

I nodded instead of trying to yell in the rain.

“Go out this door and just go around.” She gestured me out the barn door.

What on earth had I gotten myself into was all I could think of when I headed back out into the stormy weather. No one in her right mind would be doing this, I thought to myself and noticed my foot had stepped on something round. I bent down and brought it up to my face.

“What on earth?” My heart sank when I realized it was a compass, like the one from the backpack of the guy hiding out in the stables. The same compass I’d seen bouncing on the man's backpack from last night at the campground.

I stuck it in my back pocket and turned to head back toward the barn when I tripped and fell. Only it wasn’t in another mud puddle. I fell right on top of Jay Russel’s lifeless body.

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Cover by Covervault, Mariah Sinclair. Edits by Red Adept Editing Services.

Copyright © 2019 by Tonya Kappes. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information email tonyak11.tk@gmail.com .

About the Author

Tonya has written over 55 novels and 4 novellas, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists including USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor, and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband, two very spoiled schnauzers and grew up in the small southern Kentucky town of Nicholasville. Now that her four boys are grown men, Tonya writes fulltime.

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TAG YOU’RE IT

CONTENTS

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

RECIPES AND CLEANING HACKS

SCENE OF THE GRIND

ONE

Why is it that my big mouth always gets me in a little bit of a pickle? Sitting in the passenger seat of Betts Hager’s cleaning van at five a.m. was definitely not how I intended to spend my morning. Leave it to my big mouth.

The cleaning supplies and tools rattled in the back of Betts’s van, not giving me a moment of silence to close my eyes for a little more sleep. The van hugged the side of the asphalt along the curvy road on our way through the Daniel Boone National Park in Normal, Kentucky, to the north side of town off Fawn Road where the Old Train Station Motel was located.

“You know we wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t opened your big mouth down at Cute-icles.” Betts reminded me of the conversation I’d had with Coke Ogden while I was getting my manicure at Cute-icles, the only salon in Normal.

“She said she needed a cleaning service.” I groaned. “At the time, you were looking for more work, and I referred my friend. How was I to know she meant the old train station?”

Recently, Coke had bought the rundown place and had renovated it into a motel.

“I appreciate you telling her about me, but you don’t know Coke Ogden yet. She can be a pill.” Betts was right. “Besides, I only clean houses. Not motels.”

I was still new to the area, like almost two years now, and I did know most of the citizens. Just not Coke. It wasn’t like Normal was a big city, like New York City, where I’d moved from.

“Just drop me off, and I’ll do the cleaning.” I wasn’t in the mood to hear Betts fussing at me all day. “Or you can just think of it as a mansion.” It sounded like a good reasoning tactic.

“Ten rooms? Ten bathrooms? Ten toilets?” Betts questioned. “There’s no way you can get that many rooms ready in time for tomorrow night’s big hoedown. And the rest of the motel. I’m not mad. I’m just saying you could’ve been sleeping in if it weren’t for Coke.”

There was a tone in Betts’s voice that made me push myself up in the seat and glance over at her. “What’s the deal with you and Coke?” I reached over and grabbed my coffee thermos full of liquid life and took a sip. Followed up by a gulp.

“She’s just so gossipy, and I’m still a little raw from you know what.” Betts shrugged, hands gripping the steering wheel as she stared straight ahead.

Betts had just gone through a terrible divorce that we didn’t talk about much. At the time, she was left with one income and devastated. That was why I suggested Coke use Betts’s cleaning service. Only I thought it was going to be that week not a few months later.

“Don’t give her anything to gossip about.” It seemed like a good suggestion on my part. “We will keep our heads down, clean, and get out.”

“That all sounds good, but you don’t know Coke.” Betts turned off Fawn Road. To the right was the entrance of the only motel in Normal. “If you don’t watch it, she’ll be gunning for your customers.” Betts looked over and raised a brow.

My heart jumped. I never thought a motel in Normal would take away the tourists that rent my renovated mini campers and bungalows at the Happy Trails Campground.

My campground.

“We just have to make sure Abby Fawn does more of her social media marketing for me.” I winked over the steam coming out of the mouth of the thermos. “Fawn Road.” I laughed. “Abby Fawn.”

Abby Fawn was a good friend and the librarian of Normal County Library. She was a whiz at social media and had been instrumental in helping put Normal back on the map for one of the best tourist towns in Kentucky.

“Her family actually owned a lot of this land before their big bankruptcy,” Betts told me.

I knew nothing about that. “What?” I asked and took another drink of hot coffee from the thermos.

“I guess you don’t know all the history of Normal since you didn’t grow up here.” Betts pulled the van up to the front of the old train station and parked.

The massive concrete station was beautiful, framed by the dramatic backdrop of the mountains of the national park. I would say Coke Ogden had a hit on her hands. From what I remember reading about when I first moved here, there was a set of beginning trails on the back of her property that were some of the hardest trails and climbs of the area. Those were the most appealing to tourists who came to Normal for the hiking.

Right in the middle of the structure was a domed, circular open courtyard area with six massive concrete pillars holding up a dramatic patina metal roof with a rooster weather vane. The one-level covered structure jutted equally out on both sides of the dome with five doors on each side with those same big concrete pillars standing tall and ornate.

“Those must be the rooms.” Betts pointed toward some doors with brass numbers on them. “I’m glad I brought the brass cleaner because those really need to be shined up.” She let out a long sigh. “It’s going to be a long day.”

Betts and I jumped out. I followed her lead and met her at the back of the van, where she already had the double doors open. I dragged two buckets of cleaning supplies to the edge.

“Good morning!” Coke Ogden stood underneath the spotlight that hung from one of the pillars. “Glad to see you’re here to get an early start.”

I peeked around the back van door and waved to her. Coke was an odd bird. She looked as though she’d stepped right off the Mary Tyler Moore set with her colored blond hair parted down the middle and flipped up around the edges. It was hard not to stare. I just wanted to know how it stayed perfectly in place. She wore a black headband that kept the shoulder length hairdo off her face. She had petite bird-like features and a tiny frame to match. Bermuda shorts swallowed her legs. Her long-sleeved, mint-green cardigan was buttoned to the top and a matching silk scarf was knotted around her neck.

“The outside looks great,” I noted of what I could see in the van headlights when we drove up. I grabbed the bucket with one hand and the vacuum with the other.

“Thanks.” Coke walked to the back of the van. “Do you need help?”

“I think we have it,” Betts said as she pulled her shoulder-length, wavy hair in a low ponytail using the black band she took from around her wrist.

We turned around when an old pickup truck pulled in next to us. The inside light popped on when a man in a cowboy hat opened the door. He held it open with one booted foot and grabbed a rope hanging on his gun rack on the back window.

“Howdy.” He looked at us from underneath his hat.

“Jay Russel, this is Mae West and Betts Hager. They’re here to make sure everything is all tidy before the big day.” The tone in her voice caught my attention. It seemed like she was giving him more of a warning than a casual introduction.

“Is that right?” He slid his eyes between me and Betts. “Hmm, I know Betts.” He gave her the sympathetic smile I noticed a lot of people gave her. “Down at the church functions and all.”

“Yes,” Betts said in a low voice. “Nice to see you.”

We stood there waiting for Jay to say something more, but he simply walked away and around the motel.

“Don’t mind him. He’s not really happy with me.” Coke laughed. “This was his family’s property and had been for sale for years.”

“Yeah.” Betts shook her head. “I remember seeing the broken-down realtor sign in the front acre.”

“I’m talking twenty years or more.” Coke led the way through the courtyard of the motel with us following her. “Jay has his business in the stables. He teaches competition riding. You know, rodeo, barrel roping, and things of that nature. After I bought the place, I told him he was going to have find another stable and riding ring because I’m turning the stables into a wedding venue.”

“Wedding venue. That’d be nice.” Betts stopped in the middle of the courtyard and looked up, causing me to look up.

The courtyard was open to the sky, exposing the variations of blue in anticipation of the sunrise that would wake up the tourist town around seven a.m.

The crescent moon and stars were visible, and the view was breathtaking.

“Wow. This is amazing.” I twirled around while I looked up. “It’s like we are in one of those planetariums.”

Memories of Paul, my con-ex-now-dead husband, had taken me to Hayden Planetarium in New York City for a romantic dinner under the stars. He’d actually rented out the entire building just for us. Even though he was in the middle of conning people out of their retirement, which I didn’t know about, it was actually very romantic. Even for a crook.

The city lights were too bright to ever see stars or even the moon. I’d told him so many stories about me growing up in Kentucky and how the stars were the only light I had needed at night. It was one thing I had missed about Kentucky. He had been eager to give it back to me.

“I’m very excited about the guests using this area. I’ve got some very expensive telescopes being installed today just for the guests to enjoy such magnificent views.” Coke broke the memories in my head and brought me back to the conversation. “Anyways, I’ve done a pretty good cleaning over the past few months while the contractors worked on all the structures. I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty or anything.”

“Where do you want us to start today?” Betts was done with the chitchat and ready to get started.

“Move it!” Out of the darkness of the opposite side of the courtyard, a  guy appeared, barreling through us, knocking me off balance. He ran so fast, the only thing I could see was a round compass bouncing up and down on the backpack strapped on the person’s back.

Luckily it didn’t hurt when I fell down because I had enough padding on my backside. There was a second-long glimpse of the guy when he turned to look at me as if he wanted to see if I was okay. There was a little trickle of blood from the corner of his left eye.

Betts and Coke stood with their mouths open, watching the man run past them.

“I told you that if I caught you here again, you’d regret it!” Jay quickly followed with his shotgun in hand. “You’re mine now!”

He stopped, shouldered the shotgun, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The shot rang out so loud that on instinct I threw my arms over my head in fear a stray bullet would hit me even though he wasn’t aiming at me.

“What on earth is going on?” Coke screamed. Her voice carried in the courtyard. “Jay! Stop that right now,” she cried out after Jay had fired off a few more shots.

“Don’t you get in the middle of this, Coke,” he warned with a fiery look in his eyes. “If I don’t stop them right now, you’ll be the one doing it.”

He dropped the gun and looked over at me.

“You alright?” he asked. A pool of blood, not yet congealed, trickled from his head. He walked over and stuck his hand out to help me up.

“I’m fine.” I pushed my long, curly, brown hair out of my face and reached out to take his hand.

“You sure don’t look like Mae West or even resemble her.” He used his other hand to motion around my hair. “You got brown hair, and it’s all wiry and stuff.”

“I’m not sure if you’re trying to compliment me or insult me, but I choose to keep my mouth shut while you’ve got that gun in your hand.” My eyes focused on the gun.

“Call Hank,” Betts told me to call my boyfriend, who just so happens to be a detective with the Normal Sheriff’s Department.

“Hank Sharp?” Jay used the tip of his gun to push up the edge of his hat. “I’ve known Hank since he was an itty-bitty boy. He can’t do nothing here.”

We all jerked around at the sound of footsteps coming from the direction where the other person had run. Surely, the person hadn’t come back. Jay drew his shotgun back to his shoulder and stared down the barrel.

“Geez, Lee.” Jay put the shotgun down. “You about had a hole put through you.”

“What on earth is going on?” Lee asked.

I didn’t recognize the older man. He had a long goatee but was bald as could be on top. He wore a pair of overalls and work boots. “You better get those glasses checked because you can’t see a thing if you didn’t know it was me.”

“I recognized you just fine when you walked in here. I just had to scare off one of them free loaders. You know them kind that come around here strumming their guitars and smoking that weed.”

I couldn’t help but smile, listening to the other man’s thick accent.

“Enough of this chatty business.” Coke looked nervous and clearly wanted us off the subject. “Jay, get into the kitchen, and I’ll get you cleaned up.” She gestured to the blood that had dripped on the marble floor of the courtyard where Jay was standing. “You two can start by cleaning this mess up. And you—" Coke pointed to Lee. “You go on down to the stables and wait for him. In fact, you can help him pack up.”

Coke jerked Jay by the sleeve and dragged him off to the right side of the courtyard and into a door with a red caboose on it.

“Ladies,” Lee nodded, turning back to where he’d come from.

Betts and I stood there in silence, both of us still a smidgen stunned at what took place.

“I’m going to need more coffee,” I joked after I heard a car door slam and drive off since I figured Lee was heading to the stables like Coke had told him.

“Caboose Diner. Cute.” Betts shrugged and picked a spray bottle out of her cleaning bucket.

“That’s all you have to say?” I gave her a wry look. “I mean Jay was just shooting at someone. He has a gash in his head.”

“I told you to call Hank, and you just stood there, so I’m guessing we let those two handle it.” She nodded toward the diner where we could see Coke and Jay having a knock-down drag-out fight of their own.

TWO

Betts took the rooms on the right side of the courtyard, and I took the rooms on the left side to clean. The rooms were pretty much decorated all the same and in a unique fashion. The three globe-shaped pole lights that had been used in the old train station had been rebuilt and were now used as the lighting in the rooms.

The rooms were big enough for a queen bed along with a dresser and desk as well as an en suite sitting room. The tubs were claw footed, and the sinks were pedestals with hardware to match the era in which the train station had been used.

After I read the inscribed gold plates with the station history Coke had made and screwed into the wall, I glanced out one of the two windows out at the national park. My thoughts had me wondering how safe it was for a train to go in and out of the mountainous area of the park before I noticed Jay in the ring, whistling a horse to go in and out of barrels with what appeared to be a child sitting on top.

I watched in awe as he circled the lasso on the sideline while he gave directions to the rider. It was fascinating to see such a majestic creature, the horse, perform such tricks with the single flick of the rider’s heel or a gentle tug on the reins.

I’d never been around horses. They intimidated me. I was sure I could probably blame it on Mary Elizabeth always telling me at the local county fair: “Don’t walk behind that horse. It’ll throw a buck and hit you in the face.” That image of my face having a hoofprint on it for the rest of my life was not an image I ever wanted to dwell on. So I made sure I steered clear of any horse. If that wasn’t enough to put the fear of a horse in me, I had no idea what was.

All the rooms on my side of the courtyard appeared to have been thoroughly cleaned, down to the bed skirt that was tugged with no wrinkles left to pull out.

Like we told Coke we would do, I ran the dust rag over the baseboards and the tops of the furniture, ran the vacuum, and re-bleached the entire bathroom.

Coke had put a mason jar of fresh sunflowers and fillers on each bedside table, and I made sure to fill them with water before I finished cleaning. They’d still be nice and perky for the guests arriving later today or even tomorrow before the hoedown she was hosting for the grand opening.

Betts was finishing up the last room on her side as I put my cleaning supplies in the back of the van.

“I’m going to go watch Jay work with one of his clients at the stables.” I peeked my head in the guest room and told Betts, “Yell for me when you’re ready to go.”

She waved the feather duster at me to go on.

The sun was dipping in and out of the low-lying clouds. Long gone were the stars and moon. Off in the distance, the clouds were a little darker and were pushing toward us. I pulled out my cell and checked the weather. The app showed partly cloudy and lightning bolts with rain drops later in the day.

There were men unloading bales of hay and bourbon barrels from the back end of a flatbed. They hauled them into the barn located right behind the motel where Coke had designated the location for the hoedown. The barn doors were open, inviting me to take a gander around the place. I kept out of the way of the workers who were placing all the tables around the perimeter and putting the empty bourbon barrels in the middle of the barn to use as bar top tables. The inside of the barn had been brought back to life, but I could tell the integrity of the place was left.

In back of the barn there was a dance floor and a stage. There were already microphone stands and big speakers in place. A big American flag hung from the rafters at the far end of the barn. Red and white buffalo-checked tablecloths were lain over the long banquet tables. Fold out chairs were placed on each side of them. There was plenty of seating, which made me believe Coke was expecting a big crowd.

Each table had a mason jar in the middle, where I was sure Coke was going to put flowers in them like she’d done in all the rooms. Coke was sparing no expense, and it made my heart soar to think of the pride she’d taken in the old train station like I’d done with the run-down campground.

The sound of whistling followed up by some hooting and hollering from outside the barn caught my attention and put me back in the frame of mind of why I was back here: to watch Jay in action with that horse.

The stable wasn’t too far from the barn but a good enough distance away that I couldn’t smell the natural scent of the horses and what they left in their stalls. When I walked into the barn, there were at least five stables on each side with a horse sticking its head out of the bars. All their big brown eyes stared at me, making me a bit uncomfortable.

The doors at the far end of the barn were open, and I could see Jay out there with the rider I’d seen from the guest room window. Images of a horse kicking me in the face forced me to rethink my way to the ring where I wanted to watch Jay give the lesson, so I headed back out of the barn and walked around instead of going through.

“Can I help you?” Lee asked.

“I don’t think we were formally introduced earlier this morning.” I put my hand out. He took it, and I gave him a solid handshake. “I’m Mae West. I own Happy Trails Campground.”

“I recognize you from the newspaper and how you received the key to the city a few months back.” He looked me over. “What are you doing out here with Betts?”

“Betts owns a little cleaning side hustle, and I was helping her. Coke hired her.” I didn’t get into the particulars. It wasn’t necessary. “Is Jay okay?” I tapped my forehead, referring to Jay’s forehead where the bandage was.

“He’s a tough old coot.” Lee lifted his chin. “He’ll be fine.”

Jay had moved to the opposite side of us near another horse that was tied up. The horse nudged Jay, and Jay nudged back in a playful way. He even took something out of his pocket and let the horse nibble on it. It was a beautiful spotted horse. Not like the others that were brown.

“Do you know what the problem was this morning?” I asked and put my foot up on the bottom rung of the fence. I followed Lee’s example and leaned my elbows on the top rung, leaning in. I wanted to know if the guy was really causing trouble by staying the night in the barn because Jay went to a lot of trouble to chase the guy and shoot at him. Though he did say to Coke that if he didn’t take care of it while he was there, she’d have to.

“I’m sure you get unwanted hikers at your campground,” he said but kept his eyes on what was going on in the ring with the horse. “No different anywhere else in Normal. We get it all the time at my barn.”

I’m sure there were some unwanted campers, but I was of the mindset that if they needed some shelter for a night or were just passing through and weren’t bothering anyone, it didn’t bother me. I decided to change the subject.

“Is that your granddaughter?” I asked about the young rider on the horse and why Lee was here watching.

“Granddaughter?” He laughed. “Mae West, you sure do ask a lot of questions.”

“Just being friendly. I have a few minutes to kill and decided to come back here and take a look at what Jay did for a living.” It was probably my time to go.

“Nope.” His one-word answer came out of his mouth with force.

“Nope, what?” I asked.

“Not my granddaughter. She’s a potential client.” He nodded toward the kid who had on a helmet, a short-sleeved brown shirt, a light pair of riding pants, and brown boots.

“Isn’t that Jay’s client?” I didn’t follow him, but he did have my curiosity up.

“Jay is going to be out of commission until he can get all his equipment moved. Parents have spent a lot of money entertaining their kids in summer fair contests. They can’t wait for Jay to decide what he’s doing and let any time pass.” He slid his glance toward me and smiled. “That’s not how it works around here, darling. Besides, Sarah is on track to win a lot of competitions that come with many rewards for the trainer. Her parents need to make a move fast and not rely on Jay.”

“Why didn’t he start making plans after Coke had bought the place?” I wondered and watched Sarah take off her riding helmet when Jay walked over to her and gave her some instructions. Immediately, I recognized her from when I’d done a little substitute teaching at the Normal High School.

“You obviously don’t know Coke’s relationship with Jay. They have never seen eye to eye on things. I wouldn’t doubt if she bought the place just to stick it to him.” There was a bit of a distasteful tone in his voice that caught my attention. Almost as if he were jealous of Jay and the talent Sarah appeared to have. “Coke told him about three weeks ago, and all the rentals have been taken up by others who want to get in on the summer fairs like I told you.”

I guess he saw the confusion on my face because he continued, “Kentucky has a lot of county fairs that have horse competitions. All kinds of them.” He rotated his wrists but kept his forearms on the wood rung. “The winner qualifies for national competitions over the rest of the summer months. But you have to start somewhere. Some parents hire big name trainers from around the United States. They rent them a stable and pay for a place to live.”

“That seems a little much.” I snickered but stopped when he looked at me as serious as could be.

Betts yelled for me. I turned around. She was standing at the side of the motel, waving me to come back.

“There’s big money in it and scholarships for the kids.” He used his hands to push off the rails. “I’m guessing you’ve got to be somewhere?”

“Back to the campground.” I smiled and shoved off. “Good luck.”

“Yeah.” He looked down at me. “Nice to meet you, Mae West.”

After I’d walked toward the motel a short distance away from the stable, I glanced over my shoulder to get one more look at the lesson Jay was giving. Jay held the reins of the horse he was petting, but Sarah and her horse were no longer in the ring.

Lee was still there. And by the intense look on Jay’s face as he approached Lee, I could tell something was brewing between them. When Lee coughed up a big spit ball and winged it toward Jay’s feet, I knew something had brewed.

THREE

“What were they fighting about?” Dottie Swaggert took a long drag off her cigarette and blew smoke rings in the air. Her red hair was knotted up in several pink foam curlers.

We met up after a long day of work and gathered around one of the firepits at Happy Trails. “I have no idea. That’s why I was telling you about it.” I grabbed one of the sticks Henry Bryan, the Happy Trails Campground handyman, had made for making s’mores and pushed a couple of marshmallows on it. “Lee told me how Coke and Jay never saw eye to eye.” I scooted to the edge of the camping chair and extended the stick over the flame.

“Coke never said a word about it the rest of the day?” Dottie asked.

“Not a word.” Carefully, I twirled the stick around the flames so the marshmallows wouldn’t catch fire. “Then again, I wasn’t really around her. After I tidied up the rooms, which were already cleaned, I went to the stables to watch Jay.”

“Did you overhear anything they were saying?” she asked, taking another puff and a real interest in what I was telling her.

Not that I really put too much thought into it, but when she’d asked me about my cleaning gig, I had simply told her the story. Then again, Dottie loved to gossip.

“We couldn’t hear them. But he didn’t get his head cleaned up from her.” I took the marshmallows out of the fire and looked at it before putting it back into the flames to get a little browner. “He slammed the door on his way out and stomped back to the stables.”

“You? You didn’t ask any questions?” She asked as if she were surprised. “As nosy as you are.” She made a good observation of me.

“Dottie, I didn’t go to the stables until after I finished my job.” The marshmallows looked so good that I didn’t bother making a s’more. I pulled them off and stuck them in my mouth. “I can’t wait for you to see what Coke has done with the train station. It’s amazing.” My words were muffled with a mouthful of deliciousness.

“That’s so weird.” Abby Fawn spoke up from the other side of the campfire. She was sitting across from me and next to Betts.

“I told Mae it was none of our business.” Betts had an expression of disapproval. “We were there to do a job and get out.”

“Still, I found it interesting how Lee was quick to tell me about Coke and Jay’s relationship when I don’t even know him.” I left out how I’d poked him with questions until he gave in.

I looked around at the Laundry Club gals that had become my best friends and confidantes over the past year and a half since my life took a turn, sticking me right back in the middle of Kentucky, a state where I’d ran from as soon as I’d turned eighteen. Here I was again. Back in the very state I never wanted to live in. This time, I was happy.

The Laundry Club included me, Betts Hager, Abby Fawn, Queenie French, and Dottie Swaggert. Dawn Gentry was an honorary member, but she and Mary Elizabeth, my adoptive mother, were busy with the Milkery. The Milkery was a working farm with a garden, cows, chickens, goats, and a couple rooms they rented as a bed and breakfast. Queenie wasn’t here tonight. She was dancing in the undercroft of the Normal Baptist Church where she taught Jazzercise.

“You know me by now.” I reached over and grabbed a couple pieces of chocolate from the TV tray we’d taken out of my RV to put the graham crackers, bag of marshmallows, and chocolate bars on. “The agreement between Coke and Jay was weird, and I’m curious.”

“You sure are.” Hank Sharp had snuck up behind me and leaned down to give me a kiss on my cheek. Chester, his dog, darted in front of me and hopped in my lap.

I swear Chester thought Hank was the foster dad and I was the real mom. He always wanted to be with me and Fifi.

“Hey you.” I couldn’t stop the big smile growing on my face. I put Chester on the ground and stood up. I snapped off two pieces of chocolate bar and gave Hank half. “You’re home early.”

Hank usually worked a couple twelve hour shifts at the sheriff’s department during our busy summer months. Tourists flocked to our little town, especially spring through fall when it was perfect weather to do all the outdoorsy activities the national park had to offer.

People loved to be in nature during the warmer weather not only for the awesome hiking trails but for the beautiful foliage Kentucky had to offer. I loved when a photographer from the National Park Magazine would feature us. Sometimes when people are around so much beauty, they forget how lucky they really are.

“I am home early. All the hikers and campers are being good this season.” He pulled up a chair between me and the Laundry Club gals. “What did you think about the new motel?”

“Don’t get her started,” Betts warned and eased back into her chair, taking a swig of sweet tea from a mason jar. “I told her to call you.”

“It was nothing.” I stuck two more marshmallows on the stick even though I really didn’t want them. It was only because I didn’t want to look at Hank after I told him what happened. “There was a hiker that’s been using Coke’s stables for a place to stay while he hiked around the national park. Jay had already run him off once, and he was just running him off again.” I put the stick above the flames. “It certainly didn’t warrant a call to the cops.”

“What if he shot they kid?” Betts just couldn’t stop talking.

“Shot? There were shots?” Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Hank staring at me.

“Jay was just scaring the kid.” I sucked in a deep breath, hoping that Betts would just leave it at that. Maybe telling Hank that Jay was shooting as a scare tactic was a little loose. He sure was aiming for the guy.

“There was a scuffle. Did you see Jay’s face? He was dripping with blood, and we cleaned it up.” Betts just didn’t get the hint. “Not his head. The dripping on the floor.”

“We are fine.” I handed the stick to Dottie. The light brown marshmallows were her favorite. “No harm, no foul.”

“You still should’ve had them fill out a police report in case something did go wrong or does go wrong again.” Hank was by the book, and that was where we were a bit different, almost causing me not to date him. “I’ll make sure I tell them tomorrow night.”

“Hank, really.” I rolled my eyes. “I don’t want you sticking your nose into something they didn’t want to tell you. Running off and tattling to my boyfriend,” I muttered sarcastically under my breath.

“That’s what you’re worried about?” Hank laughed.

“Don’t laugh. I’ve worked hard to get this community to trust and embrace me. I don’t need you going and messing that up.” I stood up. “I’ve got to let Fifi out, and I’m going to bed. I’ve got to open the office in the morning.”

It was unusual for me to be the last one of the Laundry Club gals to leave a campfire early, but I was upset with how Hank completely dismissed my hard work with people who should’ve never trusted me at all after what Paul had done to them.

I had no idea Paul was the mastermind of a Ponzi scheme and had taken people for millions of dollars and their retirements until our lawyer had let me know Paul had put a campground in my name, something the Feds didn’t seize. I had grand plans of selling the place because the brochure made it look like a high-end retreat. With that, I’d also gotten a run-down RV, in my name as well.

Unfortunately, my sweet little sports car’s keys had been seized and exchanged for a flamingo keyring with a RV key. As always, I had tried to see the bright side, but a cloud had been following me all the way from New York City to Kentucky, where I had found the campground in shambles.

That hadn’t detoured my plans to fix the place up and sell it, only… the town had hated me and had wanted nothing to do with my business. Paul had conned them too. His little scheme had spanned several states.

All that was behind me. I had convinced everyone I was like them. I, too, had been conned right under my nose. After I’d fixed the campground up, made all the can-ham campers into rentable family getaways along with the cute modern-day bungalow, I’d really put Normal on the map as a number one Daniel Boone National Park destination.

I’d made friends, and even my long-lost adoptive family had found me after I’d been in many national park magazines about me bringing life back to Normal. It has been wonderful having real friends who I can trust and who can trust me which made me upset when Hank wanted to say something tomorrow night to Jay about what happened.

My little yellow RV parked in one of the camping spots on the right side of the campground faced the middle where a pond, complete with tiki bar and a small pier to fish from and get into the paddle boats, bubbled with a large water feature in the pond’s center, which helped keep algae and other bacteria down so guests could swim and relax.

The colored twinkly lights around my camper were festive and happy. There was a little awning in front of it, covering a picnic table and outdoor rug that just added to the comforts of home.

There was a step up to the door, and when I opened it, Fifi was standing there, waiting for me.  Her little white tail wagged quickly as she twirled around in circles, getting her excitement out. Fifi was a French poodle that I’d gotten on accident after I accidently let her get pregnant when watching her for another friend I’d met in Normal.

The problem: Fifi was a show dog from a royalty bloodline. Rosco was a white pug that had been running around the campground while his owner’s band had played a gig for my monthly Happy Trails Campground social.

A pug and a poodle do not mix. To make matters worse, he was a pug from the local SPCA without any papers to see if he was purebred. Fifi had been damaged. That was when my friend dumped her on me to take care of. On my friend’s behalf, her livelihood was based on these show dogs, and Fifi was no longer able to contribute to her income.

“Let’s go potty.” My voice rose an octave every time I talked to her like she was a little baby.

She darted between my legs, jumping out the RV. While she did her business, I headed to the back where the bathroom was to perform my nightly ritual. It was hard for me not to look around with pride at all the work I’d put into rehabbing the RV. In fact, I was quite proud of myself, thanks to YouTube DIY videos.

The walls were old wood pallets that I’d turned into what appeared to look like popular shiplap. I’d used every bit of space possible. I’d taken down all the walls and made it an open concept plan with the kitchen and family room in one big room. I’d gotten a cute café table with two chairs from the Tough Nickel, a local thrift store, as well as a small leather couch. It was perfect for one, me. The floors were redone with a prefabricated grey wood. The kitchen cabinets and all the storage cabinets were painted white. I’d transformed the little camper into a country farmhouse, a style I couldn’t believe I’d embraced since it was far from the style I had in the city.

The bathroom was redone with a tile shower and upgraded toilet. I’d bought a new mattress, and with some wooden pallets painted pink, nailed together a headboard. I’d gotten a dresser with four drawers from the Tough Nickel that went perfectly with my distressed look. I’d strung white twinkle lights everywhere I could. They added a bit of romance, along with the fuzzy rugs and milk glass vases full of fresh flowers or wildflowers that grew right outside the campground tree line that led hikers to the most spectacular trails and views of the Daniel Boone National Park.

“You are so good,” I said to Fifi when she found me in the bathroom. “I can just let you out and you come right back.”

She danced and wiggled around.

“I know what you want,” I told her and finished drying my face. “A treat.”

She darted out of the small bathroom and back toward the kitchen counter, looking up, then standing on her back legs with her front ones in the air. How could I not give something so cute a treat or two?

I made sure the RV was locked tight before I peeled back the small curtain over the kitchen sink window to see if the Laundry Club gals had left. But really to see if Hank had gone to his camper that he’d recently signed as a long-term lease. There were no longer flames, only the glow of the hot coals.

The flash of a reflector caught my attention from across the campground. It moved at a rapid pace in and around the campers. It was too big to be fireflies, and the campground around the campsites was so dark.

When the reflector moved into the shadow of one of the few pole lights that lit up the lake, I noticed it was a person. I watched to see what he… or she was going to do or were doing. If he was a guest, he knew he could come to my door, Dottie’s door, or even Henry’s door if he needed something or had an emergency.

“Hey! Do you need something?” I opened my door when I noticed the person was close enough to hear me.

The shadow stopped. The silence loomed between us like a heavy mist.

“I’m the owner. Are you staying here?” I asked and stepped out onto the outdoor carpet under the awning. “Do you need something?”

“Mae?” Hank called from a few campsites down. “Who are you talking to?”

The person took off in a dead sprint toward the woods. Fifi darted after the him.

The next thing I knew, Hank was running past me.

“Stop! Police!” He had his gun drawn, heading off into the woods after the person. “Fifi, stop!”

FOUR

“That’s it.” Hank stood at the door of the RV, bent over, sucking in air. He had Fifi under his arm.

“What?” I asked and took Fifi from him after he walked into the RV. I put her on the floor. She took a few drinks from her water bowl.

He sat down on the couch. Fifi jumped up on him, her front paws on his chest and her nose sniffing around his face.

“She must think she’s some sort of police dog,” I joked. By the look on Hank’s face, he wasn’t amused at my attempt at stand-up comedy.

“You aren’t staying here alone.” His hand looked so large on Fifi’s small back.

“I’m not alone. I have Fifi.” I opened the mini refrigerator to get him a bottle of water. He actually looked like he could use a real stiff drink, but I didn’t want to offer that knowing he’d accept, and I’d have to stay up another hour or so listening to how it wasn’t safe for me to stay in my own home. “What makes you think I’m not safe anyways? Just because some kid took off because you scared him to death by yelling and waving a gun at him?”

“When an officer of the law tells you to stop, you should stop. It wasn’t like I was going to hurt him, but he was suspicious catting around here and all.” Hank picked Fifi up and put her on the floor. Apparently, he’d had enough of her. He took the bottle of water from me. “It’s a no- trespassing campground.”

“Maybe he was hiking and passing through.” I left out the fact that I totally recognized the compass on the backpack from the hiker who’d hid out in Jay’s stables.

It wasn’t unusual for college-age kids to come to the national park and live like nomads for a few days, and this guy didn’t seem any different. Most of the time, I’d see them gathered at the amphitheater located in the green space in downtown Normal. They’d be eating and trying to figure out their next hike. They were harmless.

“Seriously, it’s all fine. If it happens again, then we might have an issue, but it’s all good.” I tried to keep my voice calm. Not that I was worried about the hiker, but it was strange that he’d made it all the way across town from the north to my campground.

“Lock your doors.” He stood up and twisted the handle of the door. “I’m going to stop by Deter’s tomorrow on the way home from work and get you a chain lock as well as a dead bolt.”

“If that makes you feel better.” They were just words to come out of my mouth to make him feel better. I’d leave the protesting for tomorrow when I was fresh and my mind wasn’t so tired.

Happy Trails had a lot of new campers that showed up today and for the weekend. The hoedown Coke Ogden was hosting had been published in all the national parks magazines as well as social media. The National Park Association had been doing really well at promoting campground events from all over the United States so if hikers or campers were traveling near one of the areas, they could decide to plan a stay.

Over the last six months, I’ve seen an increase in young couples and even young families who have taken to the road as a lifestyle. It only increased the tourism, and campsite and resort owners have to take the good with the bad.

Having wandering hikers, like the person tonight, was part of the bad. They didn’t want to pay to stay in my campers or bungalows, and they didn’t want to pay to eat. They figured they’d stay undercover in things like Jay’s stable or even somewhere around my lake. That way they’d have shelter and a quick bath before dawn or anyone could see them.

It’d had to be the same person. At least, that’s what I told myself.

“Trust me, he was hightailing it fast out of here. You scared him to death.” I laughed. “He won’t be back.” That seemed to satisfy Hank somewhat, or so I thought.

He reached the door, where I thought he had turned around to kiss me goodnight. “How do you know it was a he?” he asked, an inquisitive look on his face, and stepped back into the RV, shutting the door behind him.

Boy, was I wrong. “I guess if I tell you that the person I saw running away this morning from Jay was the same person, you might get really mad.” I slid my gaze to meet his icy stare.

“I know you don’t want me to go see Jay, but I’ve known him all my life, and he can’t be going around taking the law into his own hands,” he said with easy defiance. “What if he’d killed that person? Then he’d be in jail for murder. Plus, next time it happens, he needs to know to call me or the department for some reinforcement.”

“That won’t be necessary.” I opened the door to let him know it was time to go. “Jay’s last day at the stables was today. Coke is turning the stables into a wedding venue.”

“Really?” Hank’s head turned like a little puppy, perking in curiosity. “Even more reason to go see him.” He stepped out of the RV and stood underneath the awning. “It still doesn’t make me feel better that this person showed up here miles from the train station. Not to mention, the complete opposite side of town.”

“People hitchhike all the time. You pick them up all the time.” I reminded him how this community never saw hitchhikers other than just an innocent person going from point A to point B. New Yorkers never picked up people with their thumbs out.

“Well, it’s late. We can talk about it tomorrow when I bring your locks back to install.” He smiled, making my heart melt and my mind mushy. I forgot everything I was mad at him about. “Then we can head over to the hoedown.”

It sounded like a perfect plan, but something in my gut told me it wasn’t.

FIVE

All the work Abby Fawn and Violet Rhinehammer had done to spread the word to all the camping magazines and social media had really paid off. Abby was a whiz at using hashtags in social media while Violet was the local town newscaster celebrity. She’d done her fair share of reporting for the TV news as well as writing all kinds of articles for national park magazines and camping magazines.

From the time I woke up until the time I shut down the office computer, there was one camper after the other renting any availability we had. We had camping lots for all different sizes of RVs as well as our can-ham rentals and the bungalows. Every last one had been rented, which was unusual. All of them had asked about the hoedown and the upcoming party I hosted at Happy Trails once a month.

“I think we’re gonna have to fix up more kits!” Dottie hollered from the chair in front of her camper. Fifi and I had closed up for the day and were headed back to our camper so I could get ready for Hank to take me to the hoedown. “I gave out the last one to the couple from Detroit!”

We offered our guests different types of packages to purchase. They were delivered to the guests in baskets with local items. If they needed a laundry basket, it was filled with special detergent from the Laundry Club as well as different things needed for laundry like a coin purse to put their change for the machines, dryer sheets, and clothes pins in case they wanted to hang dry their clothes.

Fifi ran in front of me, but I decided to walk over and talk to Dottie. Her curls were long gone, and her red hair lay in soft curls around her head like a halo. The smoke from her puffing on her cigarette was like a cloud though Dottie was no angel.

“I’ll have to get with some of the local shops again and see if there’s anything new we want to add.” I sat in the seat next to her. “Plus I need to get the donated items for the campground party coming up.”

Dottie’s camper was the first camper on the right after the office. It was a perfect place to sit and people watch. There was a great view of the pond with all the cam-hams around it. On the far side of the pond were the few bungalows.

The RV sites, where people hooked up their own, were behind the bungalows in their own little neck of the woods, secluded and surrounded by trees. They also had their own firepits and all the hookups. There wasn’t a single thing Happy Trails didn’t offer, unlike some campgrounds.

“How did the hair products go over?” I asked about a specific basket with some of the products from Cute-icles salon.

It was one of the baskets Dottie had told me that no camper or hiker in their right mind would like. Too much froufrou stuff. I had begged to differ. When I first rolled over the county line in the RV from New York City, I was definitely a pampered and a kept woman though I never saw myself that way.

It wasn’t until I’d gotten my beautiful nails grimy and greasy and caked with dirt, being elbow deep in getting Happy Trails back up and running, that I’d realized I was in desperate need of a manicure and a little self-care.

I never figured myself to be a hiker, camper, or even outdoorsy until I moved here. I’d called myself a glamper, holed up at the Ritz Carlton and ordering room service while watching girly movies all day.

When the campground had started to thrive, we didn’t get just hikers and campers. We had guests celebrating their honeymoons and what bride didn’t love to be pampered on her special week?

“I hate to admit it, but we need those too.” Dottie’s brow cocked. I smiled. “Stop being smug.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Innocently I shrugged and looked down the campground at Fifi. “No!” I screamed to grab her attention before she jumped right into the lake.

“You’ve ruined that pedigree.” Dottie laughed and snapped open a vinyl cigarette case, tapping out a cigarette. She stuck it in the corner of her mouth, letting it dangle.

“Tell me about it.” Fifi was having so much fun, there was no sense in trying to get her out. She was already dirty, and I was going to be at the hoedown all night. It was best she get her energy out now. “I meant to ask you earlier if you’d seen anyone hanging around here today.”

“Hanging around?” She flicked the lighter and sucked in a deep breath, lighting the cigarette.

“Last night there was this guy I’d seen at the Old Train Station Motel.” I started to say before she interrupted me.

“You mean the stowaway Jay shot at? The one you were talking about?” She looked around the campground before she brought her gaze back to me. “I did heard Jay talking about it today at Grassel’s Garage. He was down there saying he was going to camp out or something to catch this guy. Seems this free-loader has been there a few times.” She chuckled. “Can you imagine old Jay camping on the ground with a shotgun up around his neck? He’d shoot himself. Crazy old coot.”

“Did you see anyone here last night?” I asked my question again.

It wasn’t unusual for Dottie to take a conversation in a completely different way and needed to be veered back a few times when we discussed things that included the campground. She was the campground manager and had been for years. Long before I’d even come here to live.

Dottie Swaggert knew the ins and outs of every type of camper, RV, or campervan. She even gave out checklists for every guest we had. She had a list for everything. Emergency list. Food supply list. Camping list. Camping hacks list.

Not only was she skilled in the camping world, she was also skilled in the snooping around, keeping an eye open, and blabbing about it world. This was one of those times I needed her to keep an eye out.

“Mmmmm.” Her mouth twisted side to side as though she were thinking about what I’d said.

“When I let Fifi out last night before bed, I noticed a shiny object moving around the campground. When it got closer, I saw a shadow, and when I asked if he needed something, Hank come out of nowhere and scared him.” I eyed Fifi to make sure she was still okay. She and the ducks were swimming in a perfect line around the lake. Goofy dog. “He took off and when he ran by, I didn’t see a face, but I recognized the compass pinned on the backpack. It was the same compass from the guy that Jay had shot at.”

“How do you know that?”

“I thought it was odd he’d made it all the way over here from there.” I shrugged. Maybe it wasn’t him.

“Hank saw him?” She lifted her chin.

“Saw him? He went after him, yelling police and stop and all this crazy stuff.” I paused when a couple of guests drove past us in their car. We all waved at each other.

“I just think he’s hiking all day and needs a place to lay his head at night. What do you think?” I asked and glanced over at the pond when I heard Fifi barking.

She was swimming around in circles barking at a duck after it had apparently gone rogue from the group and decided to swim off. Fifi quickly got the duck back in line.

“I’ve seen all kinds around here, and I don’t pay none of them any attention, but they should know better than to hide out in someone’s stable with a sign that clearly reads No Trespassing.” She tilted her chin in the air. “Especially when the weather is nice at night. I agree that Jay should’ve shot at the guy. Scare him off.”

“He’s obviously not taking Jay’s threats serious.” I glanced up at Dottie.

“He will if he gets a bullet in his butt.” She chuckled and took another long draw of her cigarette. “You leaving for the hoedown soon? I’m going to hitch a ride with Henry.”

“I should probably go get ready. Hank will be here soon to pick me up. First, I’ve got to get my dog.” I hurried off toward the lake. “I’ll see you at the hoedown.” I waved to Dottie over my shoulder.

I watched Fifi take part in the duck ritual. Initially, the ducks were scared of her, but Fifi didn’t mean any harm. I guess they realized she wasn’t going anywhere, so they might as well let her join in on their fun.

It just wasn’t fun for me. Every time she swam with the ducks, I had to give her a bath or her white fur would turn dingy, and her skin would get really dry, making me have to run her to the veterinarian. A bill I tried to avoid at all cost since any money the campground profited went right back into it.

“Fifi.” I teetered on the banks of the lake, wildly waving her over. “Fifi! Come here!”

“You’re going to fall in.” The slow southern voice behind me was one I instantly knew.

“Hey, Ty.” When I turned around to greet Ty Randal, I lost my footing, and in I went.

“Mae, are you okay?” Ty tried to be the polite gentleman he was as he attempted to contain the big grin creeping over his face. He took a couple of steps forward and stuck his hand out. “Let me help you.”

Fifi was swimming so quickly toward me the ducks even followed her.

“Let me get this goofy dog.” I groaned and waited for her to swim over.

She thought it was play time. Every time I reached out to get her, she turned on a dime and swam the other way. Ty Randal was doubled over, laughing.

“Here.” He reached out again. “She’s not going to come to you.”

“Fine.” I waded through the mud of the banks and took his hand. “Thank you.”

“I remember the last time you fell in.” His blue eyes glistened under his blond shaggy curls. He smelled of fried chicken. My stomach rumbled.

“Let’s not talk about that.” I patted my belly. “I’m obviously hungry. Do you have to smell so good? Just like fried chicken.”

“Coke Ogden had the diner cater the hoedown, and I’m talking hundreds of fried chickens. I’ve got war wounds from making it all.” He held out his hand and showed me all the little blisters. “Grease pops up and gets me every time. You know my dad, he keeps telling me to ‘wear them gloves’ when I use the fryer, but I like to get my hands on the food and know it’s perfect.”

“Your food is perfect.” I could taste his good country cooking now.

Ty was even perfect. Too perfect. We’d tried to date when I first moved to Normal, but he was too nice for me. I know that sounds terrible and should be something I want, but his attentiveness was a characteristic I sure didn’t want in a future husband. I liked to have my alone time, and that was probably why I had no idea my husband was a crook.

“You need a ride over there?” he asked.

“No, Hank is going to be here soon.” I looked back at the camper Hank had rented and noticed his car wasn’t there, which was odd since he was supposed to get off an hour before me.

“Are you sure? I just saw him at Deter’s Feed-N-Seed, working on the break-in.” Ty made me jerk up.

“Break-in?” I asked.

“Yeah. There was a break-in at Deter’s sometime last night. It has been closed all day. Cops going in and out of the joint.” Ty’s brows furrowed. “You hadn’t heard?”

“No. I’ve been so busy checking in guests all day that I didn’t even have my phone on me at the office.” I gnawed on my lip, wondering if I should take Ty up on his offer to hitch a ride and meet up with Hank at the hoedown. “Did they steal anything? The burglar?”

“Yeah. Took some camping equipment. An axe and some picking stuff, like hoes and shovels.” He bent down when Fifi finally got out of the water.

Her fur was dripping around her, but Ty was so good, he still picked her up and let her get him wet. “Hey, sweet girl.” He let her kiss him. “You’re just so full of life.”

She wagged her tail and continued to lick him on his chin as he talked baby talk to her.

“I can’t believe the Laundry Club gals didn’t drive out here since I saw them all pressed up against the glass.”

The Laundry Club was really a laundromat that Betts owned and located across the median on Main Street from Deter’s.

“You should’ve told Abby to come tell me.” I tsked, bringing up Abby’s name so I could ask him what was going on with the two of them.

They’d seemed hot and heavy a few months back. There’d not been much talk from Abby about him nor have I seen her hanging out at his camper at Happy Trails.

Ty and his father, along with his two brothers lived in a camper full time. His father had run the diner all his life and recently handed it over to Ty. I got a sneaking suspicion his dad was still a big part of the diner.

“Let me know if you need a ride.” He completely skipped over my mentioning of Abby and put Fifi back on the ground. “She’s a ball of energy.”

Both of us laughed, watching Fifi kneeling down in a crawl. She took turns twisting her body side to side in the grass, drying herself.

“If you think that’s going to stop me from giving you a bath, you’ve got another thing coming, little girl,” I warned her and patted my leg. “Let’s go home.”

“I’m leaving in ten minutes if you want a ride,” Ty said.

“I’ll let you know.” I headed back to the RV where I put Fifi in the shower with me since we were both stinking of pond water.

I did check my phone before the shower, and Hank had called a couple of times but didn’t leave a message or text.

“Hey, I saw you called.” I scrubbed the towel on one side of my head while I called him back.

“Why didn’t you answer?” he asked.

“I left my phone at home this morning, thinking I’d be able to bring Fifi home for lunch, but we were so busy with guest check-ins that before I knew it, it was time to close the office. We are swamped.” I looked out the window to see if he’d made it back to the camper while I was in the shower. “You aren’t home. Does that mean you’re not going to pick me up because of the break-in?”

“I figured the gals called you. Queenie was the first one there. She’s got that scanner on all the time.” There was annoyance in his tone.

There was a sound of a car driving past my RV that made me glance out the window. It was Henry heading toward the front of the campground.

“They didn’t tell me.” I put a scoop of Fifi’s kibble in her bowl then walked back to the bedroom where I looked through the small closet with not a whole lot to choose from. Becoming a minimalist was probably one of the hardest thing RV living had to offer.

There was a pause where I knew his mind was going through the options of who told me.

“Ty told me. In fact, he also told me that he’d take me to the hoedown. I’m assuming you’re going to meet me,” I said.

“You know how it is with my job.”

Of course, I knew it. I was always put on the back burner when it came to his job, and that was okay in the beginning of our relationship. There was a sudden realization that this might be a permanent thing… back burner to his job. I gulped away the thought.

“There was another break-in at the Cookie Crumble too. Apparently, whoever the thief is, he or she is planning a long camping trip. Which makes me wonder if it’s the guy we saw last night. Do you have a good description of him?”

“Not really. How long can a person live on cookies and cupcakes?” I joked.

“Eggs, bread, milk, Crisco, and sugar, along with a few more things, were stolen.” He rattled off the basics. “Christine Watson keeps a two month supply and some in the freezer. The thief literally left her with a couple weeks as if he knew she’d need some to keep going.”

“A polite thief?” I couldn’t help think this person wasn’t going to do harm. “Maybe this is the last time he breaks in anywhere else.”

“Who cares,” he said blankly. “I’m still going to find this guy. It’s still a crime.”

“I never said it wasn’t.” I didn’t like how he was acting on the other end of the phone. “Just tell me if you’re going to the hoedown or not.”

“Are you mad?” he asked. “I can’t help if my job doesn’t have regular hours.”

“I’m not mad. I just want to know if I need to go to the hoedown alone and meet you there.” He was right about his hours, and he couldn’t schedule when crimes took place, but I had to decide if what he could give to our relationship was enough for me.

“I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to make it at all.” Those were words I didn’t want to hear. “I promise to make it up to you this week. What if we go to the Red Barn for supper one night?”

“You don’t have to make anything up.” Even though I truly had to question what I wanted in a relationship, it wasn’t fair to be mad at him or upset because he was working. “I’m just happy you’re there to help because that department would be lost without you.”

Fifi was too busy darting around the RV, rubbing her wet fur all over the furniture, to even notice I had put food in her bowl. She put a lighter feel to my feeling down about going to the hoedown alone.

“You’re the best, Mae.” There was some talking in the background, and I could tell he was hurrying me off the phone. “We’re good?”

“Yeah. We’re good.” We hung up the phone, and I quickly texted Ty to tell him to wait for me.

I decided on a pair of jeans and a plaid shirt along with a pair of cowboy boots. I didn’t have time to straighten my crazy hair, so I parted it down the middle, tying it down in two low ponytails.

“Come in!” I hollered from the bathroom when I heard someone knock on the door, knowing it was Ty. I headed down the hall.

“Better grab an umbrella. They’re calling for rain,” he said.

“Really? Gosh, I didn’t even have time to have the radio on today.” I headed back to the bedroom where I kept a few coats and accessories. “Thanks for the ride. You were right about Hank. He doesn’t even know if he’s going to make it at all.” I opted for a rain jacket instead of an umbrella.

“I’m excited to see what all Coke has done for the old train station.” He held the back of the coat while I put one arm in and then the other.

“I was shocked to see how pretty it is. The architecture is unbelievable.” I grabbed my keys and crossbody purse. “You be a good girl.”

Fifi had found her food and was too busy to even hear me. I checked her water bowl to make sure it was filled before I headed out the door where Ty was standing next to the passenger door, holding it open for me like a good gentleman.

“Do you mind if we stop by Hank’s and let Chester out?” I asked and glanced down toward Hank’s rental.

“Not at all.” Ty put the car in reverse and turned it around to Hank’s camper.

“How’s your dad and brothers?” I asked like a polite southern lady would do.

“He’s good. He’s getting around better and the boys”—he put a flat palm above his head—“They are going to be taller than me.”

“That’s crazy. They are good boys.” I put up a finger when he stopped in front of Hank’s camper. “I’ll be right back.”

I dug down into my crossbody to get out the full set of keys from all the rentals I kept with me. I thumbed through them until I got to Hank’s spare and unlocked the door. Chester was already there to greet me. He was so sweet and loved affection.

It was probably a good idea for me to just take him back to my place so he and Fifi could be company for each other.

“I’m going to walk him up to my place,” I told Ty through his rolled down window. “Meet me up there.”

The short distance between Hank’s place and mine was enough for Chester to do his business, stretch his legs, and be ready to hang out with Fifi.

“Everything all good now?” Ty asked when I got back into his car.

“All good,” I confirmed. “I just hate Chester to be alone if he didn’t have to be.”

“You’re a good person, Mae.” Ty glanced over at me, his blue eyes captivating. “I heard you even cleaned the Old Train Station Motel.”

“I helped Betts tidy up, but really Coke had it all clean. Everything went dandy except for the whole bloody incident with Jay and that guy hiding out in the stables.” I looked out the window as we drove past Dottie Swaggert’s camper. There was a shadow that walked past her front window in her camper. “That’s strange.”

“It’s not strange that Jay would shoot at someone. I’ve known that old man all my life,” Ty said.

“It is strange that Dottie is still home. She told me she was riding with Henry to the hoedown, and I just saw her move past her window.” I melted back into the seat, looking straight ahead.

“Do you want me to stop so you can see what’s going on?” he asked.

“Nah. She must be getting a ride later.” I reached for my phone in my crossbody bag to text her but got interrupted by a text coming in from Hank saying that he was going to meet me at the hoedown after all.

SIX

After Ty had dropped me off at the entrance of the Old Train Station Motel so he could find a parking spot, I walked across the courtyard where Coke had put the red carpet for everyone to follow to the barn where the hoedown was taking place.

The bluegrass sounds of Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys came from the barn. Strings of twinkling lights were all over the property, dangling off trees and the barn. In the distance, the stable lights were on. There was a black cloud drifting over the area that was sure to bring the rain that was predicted.

“Welcome,” Coke Ogden greeted me at the sliding doors of the barn. “I’m so glad you made it. All your friends are over there.” She pointed into the crowded barn.

“Thanks.” I took off the rain jacket I’d brought and hung it on one of the pegs in the wall next to the other coats. “I hope the rain holds off.”

“Me too.” She patted me. “If it comes, we’ll all have good music and food to dance it away.” She winked and waved to another guest.

I couldn’t see through the crowd to where she’d pointed out my friends.

“This is great. Congratulations.” I reached out and squeezed her arm.

“Thank you.” She leaned in and yelled about Ethel Biddle’s squealing into the microphone. “If I could only get Jay to hurry up and get on out of here, you and Hank can be my first wedding.” She looked at me serious like.

“Don’t get your hopes up. Is he here yet?” I asked.

“He didn’t come with you?” she asked.

“No. He’s meeting me here. There was a break-in at Deter's Feed-N-Seed and the Cookie Crumble Bakery that’s got him working later. You keep an eye out for anyone suspicious,” I told her and headed in the direction of where she pointed out the Laundry Club gals.

There were party lights strung along the rafters of the barn that weren’t there yesterday. The old bourbon barrels were set in place and were used as bar tops like I’d thought they were going to. Big electrical wire spools were used as seats, and I found that to be very creative. There were four different bars set up, one in each corner, and along the right side was the food station where I noticed Christine Watson talking to Trudy, the waitress from the Normal Diner. Ellis Sharp, Hank’s sister, was also standing next to them but didn’t appear to be in the same conversation.

Ellis Sharp stood a little taller than me. Just enough so that certain clothes looked frumpy on me, but anything she wore looked as though it was tailored especially for her.

She had one arm positioned across herself with a cocktail dangling from her hand. Her rosy complexion, which was perfect for her job as a model. Today she wore a scowl on it that fit her attitude. Her thin shape was accentuated under the short-sleeved white eyelet dress that grazed her ankles. The strappy heeled sandals weren’t fit for a hoedown, but neither was Ellis. Her blond hair was straight and loose. It was a great style for tossing, which she did with every gesture she made.

I weaved in and out of the crowd, making my way over to them. There was a man standing up next to the band with a microphone pressed to his lips. He was belting out things like "swing your partner" and other instructions on how the dance was supposed to go. He sounded like he was an auctioneer instead of a caller, the actual name title for the job.

I’d been to many barn dances when I was young, and it didn’t appear as though anything had changed. There were still knee hoop dresses, handkerchiefs tied around necks, and men sporting rhinestone button-down shirts tucked into skin-tight jeans with a huge belt buckle. They all wore cowboy boots and did a little jig as they swung their partners around.

“Hey there, Mae.” Trudy greeted me along with a hug, followed up by one from Christine. Ellis greeted me with a forced smile, which made her eyes squint.

“Hi, Ellis.” I tried to be as nice as I could to the woman, but no matter what I did, she still never treated me like I was good enough for her brother.

“It looks good.” I glanced along the food table and back to Trudy, a waitress for the Normal Diner.

“Ty has you working tonight?” I asked.

“Yeah. I wonder where he is?” She looked across the barn over our heads.

“He’s parking the car,” I told them. “I rode with him.”

“You rode with your ex-boyfriend?” Ellis’s eyes lit up. “Does Hanky Panky know?”

“Yes. Hank is meeting me here.” I sucked in a deep breath to help keep my composure. Her nickname for Hank was annoying, and he hated it, but she was the type that didn’t care.

“Toodles,” Ellis said and waved her fingers in the air.

Ellis Sharp did whatever she wanted and didn’t care about the repercussions of it. Including trying to set Hank up with the assistant coroner, Natalie Willowby, who I didn’t see here.

I really did want Hank’s family to like me. But they were more interested in Ellis and her famous modeling slash acting career, which seemed to be stalled as of late.

Hank had lived on his parents' property while they were traipsing all over the country, paying for Ellis’s career. Recently they all moved back, making it more challenging for Hank to have any sort of boundaries with them even though he lived in a trailer instead of their house.

After a few run-ins with them, he’d decided it was time to move out and temporarily live in a camper at Happy Trails.

“Don’t mind her.” Trudy swung her fuller hips to the side, tossing her blond ponytail with her hand and doing a catwalk twirl that would have made Ellis gag. “Darling, I’ve got to get these meatballs circulated,” she said in her best fake actress voice, picking up the tray.

Christine and I laughed as Trudy did her best to mock Ellis. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Jay and Lee enjoying what looked to be a bourbon near the front of the band. It looked like they’d made up since I’d seen them having some sort of tiff this morning.

Coke was talking to some of the gals I recognized from Cute-icles, and the dance floor was filled with line-dancing lovers in big hats, boots, and in the mood for a few well-timed yee-haws.

“Say, I heard about the break-in. Are you and Mallory okay?” I asked Christine about her and her sister. I grabbed a couple of meatballs off Trudy’s tray as she passed us.

Christine always worked the bakery while Mallory did all the business and ordering. Mallory was rarely there like Christine.

“I’m fine. Thank goodness for my alarm clock not going off, or I’d have been there when they broke in.” She gulped and put a hand up to her chest.

“What time was the break-in?” I asked.

“Around six a.m.” She let out a long sigh. “I had a delivery scheduled for five thirty from the Milkery. Dawn Gentry told me no one was there, and she did try to call my cell phone. I didn’t hear it. I guess I was exhausted and needed that rest.”

“Dawn didn’t see anything?” I asked about one of my good friends and my adoptive mom’s business partner.

“No. That’s how Hank put the timeline together. I literally probably missed the burglar by fifteen minutes.” Christine’s frown made her freckles widen across her nose. “Hank said it looked as though they were trying to gather items they could live off of for some time. It doesn’t make me feel better that someone is around here trying to live.”

“Do you know if they think it’s the same person who broke into Deter's?” I asked.

“Why? Do you think so? I mean, you do have the keen sense and all.” Her eyes grew big.

“I call it woman’s intuition that had a jerk as a husband.” It was my way of explaining how I’d gotten good at being an amateur sleuth and solving crimes that’d taken place in Normal since I’d lived here. In reality, it was a lot of dumb luck and being really good at sticking my nose in situations that it had no place to be.

“Smile!” Violet Rhinehammer brought her camera up to her face and pointed it at me and Christine.

We put our heads together and showed off our pearly whites.

“It’ll be in tomorrow’s paper, so be sure to grab your copy.” Violet sidled up to Christine. “So, do you want to give me the scoop on what happened this morning at the Cookie Crumble?”

I ran my hand down my low curly ponytails, secretly hoping mine looked as good as Violet’s long blond ones. Straight blonde ones making me have hair envy.

I tugged on the knot I’d made with the hem of my plaid shirt, but there was no way my jeans were going to compare to her cutoff pair. She looked like she had stepped right off the Dukes of Hazard set. I just gave up and clasped my hands in front of me.

“I don’t think I can say too much since it’s on ongoing investigation.” The words out of Christine’s mouth sounded exactly like a scripted version of what Hank would tell her to tell anyone who asked, other than me, since she knew Hank was my boyfriend.

Plus, Christine and I were friends. She provided cookies and treats for some of the baskets I sold at the campground. She even donated cookies along with cupcakes and donuts to my guests for the morning continental breakfast I offered, which was served in the recreational building behind the office.

“You know where to find me.” Violet flipped a card out of the back pocket of her cutoffs and held it between her two fingers for Christine to take. “Toodles.” She finger waved and made her way over to another group to get some photos for her big write-up in the paper.

“Back to our conversation,” Christine turned back to me. “I do think it’s the same guy. I mean, what are the odds that someone steals all the camping equipment to camp for a while and isn’t the same person who stole food to last him a while?”

“Good point.” I grabbed one of the draft beers from the person walking around handing them out.

Ethel belted out a new song, which was apparently a town favorite. Every last person but me stopped everything they were doing and headed straight to the dance floor. Christine abandoned me. I glanced around for Hank. He’d yet to show up. I noticed Abby Fawn sitting on one of the stools looking at the dancing crowd. With a big smile on her face, she did a little wiggle dance in her seat. She had on the same outfit as all the other girls, but her brown hair was pushed up under a cowboy hat.

“Hey!” She greeted me with a big smile. “You look so great.”

She grabbed her phone off the table and poked at the screen. She pointed it toward me.

“Let me get a photo.”

I stood up and did the girl pose of one hand on hip with one leg cocked at the knee, giving the best smile I had.

“Perfect.” She flashed the phone at me to make sure I approved. “Hashtag Mae West hashtag Happy Trails is having a great time at the hashtag hoedown in Hashtag Normal, Kentucky.” Proud of herself, she said, “Now off to social media world to get more tourists.”

Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys had started their set with all sorts of instruments to back up Ethel’s singing. There was a standup bass, banjo, jug blower, fiddler, guitar, and harmonica all harmonizing, bringing more of the younger crowd to the dance floor. No one seemed to see the flashes of lightning as it traveled across the black sky followed up by thunder.

One, two, three, four, I started to count between the flash of lightning and sound of thunder. However many seconds between thunder was the total miles it’d be until it was right over us. Sounded like a crazy way to predict weather, but it was true. Just like we followed the Farmers' Almanac to plant our gardens and local crops.

“I hope they find the person who broke into Deter’s and the bakery.” I made small talk with her and noticed Dottie Swaggert on the dance floor. Henry twirled her around before putting his hand on her waist to complete the steps in the line dance to the song before they started the dance pattern again. “When did Dottie get here?”

“Long time ago. She and Henry were here before me.” Abby brought her drink to her lips.

“Are you sure?” I asked, knowing I’d seen Dottie through her window when Ty and I drove past.

“Yeah. They were talking to Ethel and Henry and even helped set up their instruments. I hope they catch the burglar too.”

The lights flickered, and there were a few glances around. They went right back to focusing on their dance moves when the lights didn’t go out completely.

“Were you at the Laundry Club when the police were at Deter’s?” I asked. For some reason I just couldn’t let it go that the guy in the stables and at Happy Trails last night was the same person breaking in.

“Of course, we were all there except you. It was odd because, according to Alvin, there was no forced entry, and he claimed he put the alarm on before he left the night before.” She shrugged. “I told the gals that I bet some poor college kids came down here to hike, decided to stay, and took enough things to live on for a week or so.”

“You’re probably right.” I looked around again when the lights flickered, wondering if Coke had gotten a generator backup for the motel and if it extended to the barn.

“It’s gonna be a gulley washer out there soon.” Abby looked out at the rain.

A big crack of lightning followed by a loud boom of thunder ripped through the barn. The lights went out and the band’s speakers went silent as darkness fell upon us.

“Well, heck,” I heard a voice that sounded a lot like Dottie’s break the quiet before a flick of her lighter gave off a little gleam of light. “Lighters up!” she hollered.

Within seconds, the entire barn was lit up in butane lighters like it was a rock concert. If a party goer didn’t have a lighter, the flashlights on cell phones were held up.

“I guess we are leaving.” Ty had made his way over to me and Abby.

“Abby.” He nodded and then turned back to me. “Mae, you ready?”

“Yeah.” I gave one look around to see if Hank had gotten there, but I didn’t see him though I definitely could’ve missed him in the dark.

I gave Abby a quick hug.

“I’ll see you in the morning.” I got off the stool and headed toward the front of the barn with Ty before a clap and a fork of ligtning shattered the darkness. The storm was getting closer.

“Wait!” Coke stopped me at the door after I’d gotten my rain coat off the hook. “You own a campground, and you’ve got to have some knowledge on these sorts of storms.”

She was right. I’d had plenty of outages where the electrical box had tripped.

“I’m in no way an electrician, but I can take a look and see if a breaker has tripped.” I tugged on the tie of my raincoat a little snugger, now wishing I’d taken an umbrella like Ty had suggested.

“Thank you.” Coke put her hands together and let out a long sigh. “Folks! Just stay right here. If Mae can get the electricity back on, we’ll continue the hoedown!”

There were clapping and yee-haws along with whistles that echoed out of the darkness that put a little giddy-up in my step.

With all the confidence in the world, I headed outside with Coke leading the way.

Thank goodness she was in front. After another clap of thunder, the dark sky opened up and rain poured down on us. A horse ran past us so fast it almost clipped Coke.

A scream came from deep in my gut when the Appaloosa horse scared me half to death.

“Rosa.” Coke twisted around. Rain droplets fell down her face. The black from her mascara ran in long lines down her cheek. “I think that was Rosa!” she screamed over the thunder.

“Who’s Rosa?” I asked loudly to be heard over the rain.

“Jay’s prize horse.” Coke put her hand over her brows to shield the pelting rain from going into her eyes. “He’d never let her out in this.”

The horse galloped off into the distance into the dark abyss. It was too dark for me to see if it was the horse Jay had been petting yesterday morning.

“We have to go to the stables first.” She motioned for me to follow her. “I’ve got to check on the other horses.”

My steps were heavy from getting stuck in the mud and me trying to pull them out with each step. It was such a heavy rain. It was hard to see a foot in front of me. A few more steps ahead, the big light overtop the stable door was visible. I made my way toward it and really humped it when another clap of thunder sent my heart racing.

“Don’t you think Jay should be doing this?” I asked and turned back to look at the barn where the hoedown where the guests waited on my electrical skills. “I can go back and get him.”

Coke didn’t respond. She heaved as she tried to slide the barn door open. When I noticed she was having trouble, I put my hands on hers.

“1,2,3,” she counted. “Pull!”

We tugged the door open, tripping over ourselves, landing on our hineys in a big mud puddle. It would’ve been a laughable moment under different circumstances, but we were cold and wet. Not a good combination for me.

Crackling music poured out of the stable.

“Jay plays music for Rosa when it’s storming! He must’ve been in here to turn on the transistor!” She screamed over the screeching music.

A flash of lightning lit up the stables. The radio was sitting on the ledge of one of the wooden fences. Coke walked over and twisted the switch off.

“He uses the old battery radio in times like this.” Coke was referring to the electricity being out. “Jay!” she called out and walked down the center aisle.

I stood there, enjoying the cover and trying to forget the mud clumped all over my clothes and in my curly hair, while Coke hurried down the barn.

“Rosa’s stall door is open.” Coke pointed to a stall in the far back.

“There’s light in here.” I noticed a few of the interior fixtures were lit up.

“There’s a generator for the animals.” As she talked and walked down the center aisle, the other horses poked their heads out of the bars to see what was going on.

I walked over to the one closest to me and patted it on the nose. The horse danced around as though it was uneasy.

“It’s just a storm. It’s okay,” I spoke softly to try and calm down the creature.

“Mae! Someone opened the stall and opened the back barn door,” Coke hollered over the sound of the rain beating down on the roof. “Help me get Rosa!”

My first instinct was to protest. I’d never been around horses before, and the bars between me and the one I was petting was as close as I wanted to get to the intimidating creatures.

“Come on!” she yelled. “I’ll call Jay.”

I nodded. Maybe she didn’t hear me over the rain earlier.

“He’s not answering.” She put her phone away before she gestured for me to help shut the back door where Rosa had apparently escaped from. “Why don’t you go back to the hoedown, find him, and tell him. Rosa will come to him.”

I nodded instead of trying to yell in the rain.

“Go out this door and just go around.” She gestured me out the barn door.

What on earth had I gotten myself into was all I could think of when I headed back out into the stormy weather. No one in her right mind would be doing this, I thought to myself and noticed my foot had stepped on something round. I bent down and brought it up to my face.

“What on earth?” My heart sank when I realized it was a compass, like the one from the backpack of the guy hiding out in the stables. The same compass I’d seen bouncing on the man's backpack from last night at the campground.

I stuck it in my back pocket and turned to head back toward the barn when I tripped and fell. Only it wasn’t in another mud puddle. I fell right on top of Jay Russel’s lifeless body.

SEVEN

After I’d tripped over Jay’s feet, all the details were a little cloudy up until Hank showed up. His attention to making sure I was okay was exactly what I needed to wrap my head around the fact that Jay Russel was dead.

One of the officers stood next to me and Coke with an umbrella over my head. Hank had draped one of those quilted blankets he’d found in the horse stables over my shoulders to help prevent me from shaking from the cold. In reality I was shaking from my nerves. Coke had waved off the blanket as she stood there with her eyes focused on Jay.

I watched as Colonel Holz and Hank inspected Jay’s body. Jay’s upper half of his body was resting on one of the wires of the electric fence. The half I’d tripped over lay on the grass. I noticed how odd it was that he was between two wires instead of just the top one.

Casually, so no one would notice, I twisted my body a couple of times, as though I was falling, to try and figure out just exactly how he’d fallen. When I couldn’t come up with something quick, I decided to let it go and leave it to the experts.

The dark clouds had blown to the east, and the rain had moved to a drizzle and then stopped all together. A few stars started to show in the black sky, letting all of us know the bad weather had practically left our region.

The officer took down the umbrella and moved on to something else in the investigation, leaving me and Coke alone to assess the situation ourselves.

“What on earth was Jay doing?” I couldn’t move past death by electrocution.

“It appears as though he’d come into the barn, let out Rosa for some reason, and fell on the fence.” Coke had already figured out what happened. “That’s what made the electricity go out, I bet.” She nodded.

“I didn’t even know there was an electric fence out here.” A wave of gratefulness that I’d not tripped into an electric fence swept through my body, sending tears to the edge of my eyelids. “That could’ve been me.” I gulped back.

“Not unless you shot yourself.” Natalie Willowby walked up to Hank. She looked between me and Coke.

“Shot?” I questioned.

“It appears as though Jay had fallen on hard times.” I could tell Hank thought Jay had taken his own life. He lifted up what looked like a journal. “This was in Rosa’s stable. He wrote all about the stables and having to find a new place for his clients.” His gazed suddenly focused on Coke. “All about Rosa.”

Coke looked down at her feet. Was she hiding something? My gut tugged. It was like I could read his mind. He didn’t think Jay killed himself. He thought Coke knew something.

“Jay would’ve never done that to himself.” Coke was quick to snap and bring me out of my thoughts.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I went to take it out, feeling the pin of the compass.

“I found this before I tripped over him.” I held it out to give to Hank. Natalie took it. I glared at her. “I swear it’s the same compass the guy Jay had shot at had on his backpack and the same one I saw last night at the campground. You know, the one you chased.”

“You chased someone?” Natalie asked as if she had authority to do so.

“He had no business snooping around the campground.” He made no big deal out of it.

“What about the compass?” I asked. “There was a person here fighting with him. Jay shot at him. That’s where he got that cut on his head.”

“Alvin Deters has a wall of these things down at the Feed-N-Seed. We’d have to interview everyone from here to Timbuktu if we went on finding that compass.” Natalie laughed at me.

I glared at her and decided to look at my phone instead of giving her the satisfaction of me talking to her.

The text was from Abby. She wanted to tell me to meet the gals at the Laundry Club after I was done at the stables. They were going to meet there after the police were finished interviewing everyone at the hoedown.

Colonel Holz called Natalie over while another officer took Coke back into the stables to finish interviewing her.

“Do you really think he did this to himself?” I asked Hank. “I mean what about that Lee guy?”

“Lee Wells?” Hank shook his head. “I doubt it. They’ve been best friends for years.”

“Do best friends spit on each other’s shoes?” I asked. “I saw them yesterday. Lee was taking over Jay’s clients.”

“Why would he do that when Coke gave him an extension to stay through the summer.”

“She did? The last I heard, she told him he had to find a new place so she could turn the stables into a wedding venue.” It didn’t make sense to me. “Lee told me he was here to look at a potential client.” I gnawed my lip. “Maybe Lee had counted on all the new clients and just today Coke gave Jay the news. The clients stayed with Jay and that made Lee mad.”

“Lee Wells runs a hell of a business.” Hank looked under his brows at me, overtop of his notebook where he’d taken some notes. “He didn’t need anything from Jay Russel. Trust me.” Hank put an arm around me and kissed me on the temple. “It’s cute how your adorable brain works. You playing detective and all when Colonel has already declared a self-inflicted wound.”

“But why would he kill himself if Coke had given him a few more months?” I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“A lot of times these things don’t make sense.” Hank gave me a brisk rub up and down my arms. “I’ll see you in the morning. Coffee.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled and watched as Colonel and Natalie rolled Jay’s covered body on the church cart past me. “Coffee.”

Jay Russel didn’t seem the type to run away from life. There was more to it, and I couldn’t help but wonder what.

EIGHT

Even though a nice summer breeze came in the window of Henry’s car driving down through the holler and into the Daniel Boone National Park, there was still a chill that goose bumped its way along my arms. I gripped the handle of the door.

“You seem awfully quiet since we left.” Dottie glanced over her shoulder to the back seat where I was sitting.

“I think it’s odd that Jay would kill himself. Even more so now that I know Coke Ogden had extended the time he needed to be out of the stables.” I let out a long sigh.

Henry followed with a long sigh and pressed back into the seat. He had both hands on the wheel.

“Thank you, Henry, for giving me a ride.” I had no idea where Ty had gone. “One minute Ty was standing there, and the next he was gone.”

“Now that you bring it up, I don’t think Abby was too happy that you were with him.” Dottie caught me off guard.

“That’s goofy.” Hank gave Dottie a side glance. He looked at me in the rearview mirror. Was he checking to see my reaction?

“Why? Abby and Mae are friends. We could’ve given her a ride.” Dottie shrugged and repositioned herself when we drove into the downtown limits.

The streetscape was so pretty in downtown Normal. The Main Street was divided by a grassy median, each side of it a one-way street. There were carriage lights, like most small towns, that were strategically placed and glowed a cozy ambience no matter the time of day or night.

The grassy median had its own little park with an amphitheater, picnic benches, a covered space for reunions or get-togethers, and plenty of trees. It was a perfect place to host celebrations even though Coke was going to be providing those types of events at the Old Train Station Motel.

The shops were stand-alone charming cottage-style homes with picket fences around them and a courtyard. They ranged from The Smelly Dog Groomer to Cookie Crumble Bakery and every store one could think of in a small town. Each one was locally owned and not some big corporation. It only added to the charm.

In fact, there was a city ordinance that stated no big box stores. That included chain restaurants of any kind, including fast food joints. Citizens and visitors had to drive out of the Daniel Boone National Park to get any of that. That’s why Mary Elizabeth’s Milkery was popular. Although it was located on a farm out of the downtown area, people loved the fresh products she offered.

The Laundry Club was the laundromat located downtown, but it was much more than just a bunch of washer and dryers. It’d become a place for my friends and me to hang out while we visited. Betts was the owner and had made it very cozy and welcoming by adding a coffee station, book club meetings, puzzles, and TVs. Those perks just weren’t for me and the Laundry Club gals. They were for anyone using the facilities.

Laundromats were very popular in hiking areas. Some campgrounds didn’t offer a washer and dryer, but Happy Trails did, which meant that my guests didn’t have to come to a laundromat to do their laundry. The Laundry Club was always filled and not even the rain had stopped customers from filling the joint up.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to come back and get you two?” Henry asked after he stopped his car in front of the laundromat.

“No.” I shook my head. “One of the gals will bring us home. Thank you.” I leaned forward and patted his shoulder “You’re the best.”

“Yeah.” He laughed and waved us out.

“Thanks,” Dottie said to Henry.

Queenie French walked up the same time I got out of Henry’s car. She held the door open and waited for me and Dottie.

“I heard you got a ride from Ty to the hoedown.” She looked at me with amused wonder. Her short blond hair was matted down to her scalp, a testament to her fight with the rain. The rain had won.

She was wearing a knee-length square dance skirt where the panels alternated between a solid blue fabric and one with flowers instead of her usual silky skin-tight dance leggings and a Jazzercise tank. She had her signature fanny pack snapped around her waist and a white blouse tucked under the fanny pack. There was a hot pink scarf tied around her neck and a pair of white, tap-like shoes on her feet.

“I’m sure you did.” I knew Abby was mad, and she had no reason to be. It would all be good once I explained Ty had taken me as a favor since I was going to meet Hank at the hoedown even though that hadn't panned out exactly as planned. Really, nothing tonight had turned out as planned.

“You were getting it out there on the dance floor.” I smiled and walked next to her to the couches where Betts already had cups of coffee waiting for us.

“Not too shabby for sixty years young.” Queenie winked.

“Heck no. You were doing better than anyone younger out there.” My attention drew to Abby.

She greeted me with a tight thin-lipped smile.

“We are going to get this out in the open right now,” I told her and sat on a different couch. I picked up a coffee cup and held it in my hands. “He offered to take me when I told him I was waiting on Hank. Hank couldn’t come because of the break-in at Deter’s, and Hank told me to get a ride with Ty and meet him there.”

“See.” Betts was sitting next to Abby. She patted her on the leg. “I told you there was a good reason.”

Abby blinked a couple of times. I wasn’t sure, but she looked like she was about to cry.

“Why did he bring you here?” she asked as she tried to hold back the tears.

“He didn’t. He ghosted.” I pointed to Dottie. “I hitched a ride with Dottie and Henry. There is nothing between me and Ty. I’m head over heels crazy about Hank.”

“I understand.” She brushed off my reasoning. “I’m fine.” She looked at Dottie. “How are you?”

Abby cut off any more conversation about Ty, still leaving me with unanswered questions. When he said they were different, did he mean he was different? He sure did make it seem like they were in agreement. By the way Abby was acting, I knew that wasn’t right.

Ty and I were good enough friends that I felt comfortable with asking him about it even though Abby and I were much closer. It was a subject that was still raw with emotions as her shaking hands told me. Plus, it was between me and Abby, not me, Abby, and all the people in the laundromat.

“This is Violet Rhinehammer reporting live from the grand opening of the Old Train Station Motel located in the Daniel Boone National Park in Normal, Kentucky.” Violet was on TV giving a special report from the regular television schedule. “It appears the body of local horse trainer, Jay Russel, was not murdered as previously reported. There is an ongoing investigation according to Detective Hank Sharp.” The camera panned over to Hank and Natalie.

The door opened, and we all turned to look from the TV to see who it was. Coke Ogden walked through the door. Her face was blotchy, her nose was red, and her eyelids were swollen, evidence of her crying.

“This is not a murder investigation. Preliminary reports from the coroner’s office shows it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound that led to Jay Russel’s death. We won’t be holding any sort of special press conference at this time.” Hank gave one good nod to the camera before it panned back to Violet, but not before I saw Hank’s hand touch Natalie’s arm to gesture her off camera.

That made my blood boil. I knew it shouldn’t, but when Ellis and Hank’s parents had come back to town, Ellis tried her hardest to get Hank to go out with Natalie. Something I didn’t take lightly.

“I don’t care what Hank Sharp or that goody two-shoes coroner Natalie whatever-her-name- is says.” Coke waved a hand in the air, then rubbed it under her nose, giving it a big sniff. “Jay Russel didn't kill himself.”

She went around making eye contact with each of us but stopped at me.

“I’m telling you, after the deal we made, he was happy as a pig in slop.” She pointed at me. Her jaw set. Her eyes froze. “And, Mae West, you’re just the person I’ve come to see.”

“Me? I didn’t do anything.” I drew back and gulped. “I just met the man.”

“You know stuff. You know how to get to the bottom of stuff, and I want to pay you to get to the bottom of this.” She stomped her foot in anger. “Jay Russel was murdered, and you’re gonna find out who done it.”

Yep. Nothing tonight turned out as planned.

NINE

There were no promises made last night after Coke Ogden had asked me to help get to the root of Jay’s death. Though I couldn’t say the evidence she provided wasn’t enough to give me a second thought to what the coroner had initially determined as the cause of death.

Coke had brought up a good point. Jay loved his horse. Why on earth would he let her out of the stable when it was about to downpour? According to Coke, Jay even played music in the stall if there was the slightest hint of gray clouds lingering because Rosa was scared of storms, especially lightning.

If he loved Rosa so much, why would he put her in a situation where she would be frightened and run off? Wouldn’t he give her to someone he loved? Which made me wonder if he had family or someone he loved?

Then there was the fact that I’d seen him not only get into one but two arguments. One with the hiker hiding out in the stable and the other an altercation with Lee after I’d watched a little of Jay’s class. Not that either of them killed Jay, but both would have reason.

Let’s face it, people kill people over the slightest things nowadays, and when a person shoots at someone several times like Jay had the hiker, the hiker might’ve come back for revenge. Then there was the greedy side of things which would give Lee a good reason to knock Jay off. According to Hank, Lee had his own little empire in Normal with his own clients, but he could have all the business if Jay wasn’t around.

All of these questions must’ve been rolling around in my head because I woke up at four a.m. with Jay on my mind. Fifi was right there with me, sitting up in our bed, staring at me.

“You can read my mind.” I picked her up, holding her close and giving her extra special kisses. “You know exactly what I need. Walk?”

Her eyes popped up, and her back end started to wiggle, forcing her out of my arms. She darted off the bed and headed straight to the front door of the RV.

“I’m coming.” I rolled out of bed and tugged on sweatpants over top my sleep shorts. “Hold on,” I called to Fifi when I heard her nails scraping the door in anticipation.

Quickly I looked at the outside temperature on my phone and decided to grab my hoodie on my way out of the room. The coffee pot was already to brew. I hit the on button and knew it’d be hot and ready for me after a brisk walk around the lake.

“I’m going to put your leash on because I don’t want you swimming with the ducks or wake them up.” I snapped the leash on her collar.

The line went taut as she bolted out the door as far as she could, and I locked the door behind me. Four a.m. was pitch black, and if it weren’t for the fireflies out and about, the only light would be the bright moon and stars.

It was a catch-22 in a campground when it came to lighting the place up. True campers came to Happy Trails to get out of the city lights and enjoy what nature had to offer. As stunning as camping in the Daniel Boone National Park was, I still had to consider the safety of the campers and the campground.

We had lights around the campground that were on a timer until nine thirty p.m. Most people who camped or hiked around here were already back at the campsite and winding down from the day around the fires. They were also early to bed and early to rise.

There was a small pole light on the small dock that led out to the lake. I insisted we do that since it was around water, and I never knew what people who drink might be thinking. Late night swims weren’t uncommon around here. Though we discouraged it, and there were Swim at Your Own Risk signs that my insurance agent made me put up, people still did it.

The splashing around that was going on now was more than just ducks. I was going to check it out. Fifi and I walked toward the office, stopping a couple of times so she could do her business. I deliberately went that way to get the best view of the pond from where the moon was positioned. I knew if I walked with my back to the office, the moon would be positioned in the sky, shining down on the pier of the pond where the splashing was coming from.

I passed Dottie’s camper, and it was dark. When I passed the office, I noticed a light was on. In my mind, I replayed shutting down the computer and leaving for the night. I distinctly remember locking the office door.

As I got closer, I could see through the window. Dottie Swaggert was sitting in her office chair, her head resting on the desk. The door was locked. I tapped lightly on it so as not to scare her from her sleep, but that didn’t work. The sound of a chair crashing on the floor came from inside.

“Dottie, it’s me.” I placed my mouth close to the door and said, “It’s Mae.”

The footsteps got closer, and the door swung open.

“Dottie.” I gasped when I noticed the dark circles under her eyes and her red hair not up in the usual pink sponge curlers. “I don’t ever think I’ve seen you at night without your curlers.”

She stuck her head out of the door and looked both ways before she reached out and dragged me in.

“Get in here.” She jerked me, making me trip over the threshold and almost sending me flat on my face.

Fifi didn’t even notice. She trotted right on in and headed straight to Dottie’s desk, waiting for a treat.

“Someone broke into my RV last night. They took my gun.” There was a growl in her voice which made me think she was more mad than scared.

My eyes shifted back and forth as I tried to pry open my brain without the help of coffee. In mid-thought, I jerked up to look at her.

“I saw someone in there last night when Ty and I passed your place on our way to the hoedown.” I sat down in one of the chairs at her desk and eased back.

“Why didn’t you tell me when you saw me?” She narrowed her eyes and studied me.

“I…” I stammered searching for why I didn’t say anything. “I thought it was odd and figured you were running late. When I saw you on the dance floor, it completely escaped my mind.” That was no excuse, but it was all I had. “Did you call Hank?” I asked.

“No. After Henry dropped me off and I noticed the camper had been broken into, I went to grab my gun just in case someone was still in there.” Her nostrils flared. “That’s when I noticed it was gone. Bullets and all.”

“Why didn’t you call Hank?” I asked.

“He had his hands full with Jay. I sat here watching out the window to catch him when he came home, but he’s not come back yet.” She gave me information that didn’t sit well with me. “What’s that look on your face?”

“I wonder why he didn’t come home? If Jay wasn’t murdered, there wouldn’t be a crime scene.” I couldn’t help but think about Natalie Willowby at the scene when I left. I didn’t like her and how she had been just a step behind him all night.

Dottie looked out the window, staring intensely.

“There were a lot of people he had to interview at the hoedown, not to mention the report he’d have to write.” She jerked her head toward me. “And Glenda. They’d have to tell Glenda.”

“Glenda?” I asked.

“His daughter.” Dottie blinked a few times. “I wonder if she knows.”

“He had a daughter?” I didn’t even think about his family members. She nodded. “Wife? Other kids?”

“No. He and Paulette only had Glenda.” Dottie let loose a long, dramatic sigh. “Paulette met her a hippie back in the seventies. Peace, love, and all that bull malarkey.” She shook a finger at me. “Believe you me, nearly killed Glenda when her mama ran off like that.”

“Really?” I stood up and walked over to the coffee pot. “What else?”

While Dottie told me more about Jay, Paulette, and Glenda, I made us some coffee. Immediately, the strong aroma tickled my brain to life.

“Paulette came back one time, and she was nuttier than a fruit cake. She was saying how she’d been all over the United States and seen things we’d never believe.” Dottie reached out and took the coffee mug from me. “Said she was livin’ somewhere in Colorado, but it’s untellin’ where she really lived.” She lifted the mug to her lips and took a sip. “She wasn’t as pretty no more. She looked like death eatin’ a cracker.”

The sound of gravel spitting up under tires made us look out the window just as Hank’s big black car passed.

“We need to call Hank.” I took my coffee and moved closer to the window, watching the tail lights go around the lake.

“The swimmer.” I gasped. “I completely forgot about the swimmer.”

“What swimmer?” Dottie stood up from her desk and walked over, looking over my shoulder.

“I couldn’t sleep, and I think someone was swimming in the lake. That’s why I took Fifi for a walk.” There didn’t seem to be anything in the pond now. The top of the pond was like glass and shiny in the moonlight.

Before I could finish my sentence, I noticed Hank’s car had passed his rental, and he was driving back toward the front of the campground. When he stopped the car next to the office, Dottie and I looked at each other.

“Dear.” Dottie shoved her free hand in her hair. “I’m a mess.”

“I don’t think he’s going to care.” Both of us shuffled over to the door to let him in. “Good morning.”

He looked between us.

“What are you two doing up at five a.m?” he asked, his body stiff.

“Actually, I got here an hour ago, and Dottie’s been here all night.” I held up my mug. “Coffee?”

“I guess I better if I’m going to hear what’s in that head of yours.” He knew me too well.

“Go on, Dottie.” I encouraged her once Hank was inside and sitting with a cup of coffee. “Tell him.”

“Tell me what?” Hank asked.

“Someone broke into my camper last night while I was at the hoedown. And Mae saw them.” She nodded at me.

“I didn’t see the person.” I made sure to correct her. “I saw a shadow and figured she didn’t go with Henry to the hoedown.”

“I told you I was going with Henry.” Her brows furrowed.

“I know you did, and I saw Henry’s car driving past my RV. When Ty and I drove by—” I gulped when I heard how my words sounded as though Ty and I were on a date or something. I glanced at Hank, but he didn’t seem to care, so I continued, turning my attention to Dottie. “I noticed a light on, which is strange since you turn them off when you leave. Anyways, I thought you’d decided not to come or come later. If I was driving my own car, I would have stopped to see if you needed a ride.”

“Was anything stolen?” Hank asked.

“Yes. My gun.” Her face clouded with uneasiness. She was definitely covering something up, but I wasn’t sure what.

“When did you get home?” he asked.

“What time did we leave the Laundry Club?” she asked me.

“You went to the Laundry Club after finding Jay?” he questioned.

“Yes. Me and the girls weren’t tired.” I decided to leave out the fact about Coke showing up and asking me to help her find out who killed Jay because Hank truly believed he wasn’t murdered.

“You didn’t call the police?” He took the heat off of me and went back to Dottie. Her silence was enough for him to know her answer. “You need to come make a police report.” He took another drink and put the cup on the desk. “I’m tired. It’s been a long night.”

“Did you find Glenda or Paulette?” Dottie didn’t care if he was tired or not. She was going to get to the bottom of that gossip.

“We got in touch with Glenda. She said that she thinks she can find her mom, but it might take a week or so.” He walked over to me and put his arm around me. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” Looking deep into his green eyes made any insecure feelings I had instantly go away. “You go get some sleep and call me when you get up.”

He gave me a kiss and told Dottie to go to the station before he left.

“Did he pull off yet?” Dottie asked.

“Yes.” I looked out the window to be sure.

“We’ve got a problem,” Dottie said.

I turned toward her to ask her what she meant, but she was on the phone.

“Your ex-husband was found dead. I think it’s murder,” Dottie told the person on the other end of the phone.

Ex-husband? Was she talking to Paulette?

An icy chill started at my toes and traveled up and outward. One of those danger chills.

TEN

Waiting on Paulette Russel was like waiting on a baby puppy to be born. It was a mix of excitement, anticipation, and nerves all wrapped up into one. I was on edge just like I’d been waiting for Fifi to have her puppies. I couldn’t wait until Paulette showed up in Normal. Whenever that was. She’d told Dottie she’d try to hitch a ride.

“Tell me one more time exactly how you know her?” I asked.

In my mind I wondered if I should tell Hank about Dottie knowing Paulette, but I decided to hear what Dottie meant by telling Paulette how they had a problem. What problem?

“She and I have been friends for years.” She walked outside the office with her cigarette case in her hand. I followed behind her. “You don’t have to come watch me smoke.”

“If y’all’ve been friends for so long, why on earth would you say all those mean things about her earlier?” I shrugged and jumped when I almost stepped on Fifi, who had run under my feet to go outside. “I mean, I wouldn’t talk bad about you? Or any of the Laundry Club gals.”

“Mean things? I did no such thing. I told the truth. That’s what’s wrong with people nowadays. They think when you tell the truth, you’re speaking your mind and talking negative about someone. I don’t say nothin’ about someone unless I’d say it to their face.” Dottie snapped open the case and took out one of her smokes along with the lighter. She put it in her mouth and flicked the lighter.

“What did you mean about having a problem?” There was no beating around the bush with Dottie. She and I both had always been up front with each other since the day I rolled the RV into the campground.

“That gun.” She swiveled her head toward me. Her eyes darkened. “It was Jay’s.”

“The gun they found on him?” I questioned since it only made sense the gun was his.

“The gun stolen from my place.” Smoke blew in front of her face, clouding her reaction and mine.

“And how did you get the gun?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to the question.

“Took it.” She wrapped her free arm around her waist and continued to puff away. “Me and Paulette took it from his stables.”

“Please don’t tell me you stole it.” I ran my hand over my face, afraid to look at her. Her face told me I was spot on. “Oh no. You stole it?” I gasped.

“Paulette said she didn’t get half of nothin’ in their divorce. So it was part of her half, and she said I could have it.” Dottie snorted. “She really does deserve half.”

“You said she took off. Why should she have gotten half?” I waved my hands in front of me. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have a stolen gun, and it just so happens to be Jay Russel’s. Who is dead,” I told her in case she’d forgotten. “By a bullet that knocked him into the electric fence.”

“It wasn’t me. I was at the hoedown, and someone came in and took it.” She could spin it anyway she wanted to, but if the bullet came back as one from the gun she stole, then there’d for sure be a problem. “He wasn’t murdered anyways.”

“Then why do you think you and Paulette have a problem if the gun can’t be traced to his death?” I asked.

Fifi came running back. She bounced up on her hind legs and planted one front paw on my shin, the other folded over.

“The money?” I asked and picked Fifi up, nestling her in the crook of my arm. “What money?”

Dottie took one last draw off her cigarette before she bent over and snuffed it in the gravel. She stood back up and rolled her shoulders back. Her eyes drew up and down my body as though she were assessing me. The sun was starting to rise over the national park. The light and dark pink sky gave a warm glow around Dottie, making her red hair soft and angelic. She was no angel.

Her mouth twitched side to side. I could see the wheels in her mind rolling around.

“You ain’t gonna tell your boyfriend?” Dottie must’ve had a big secret if she was bringing Hank into this. “It could be a reason Jay didn’t hurt himself.”

“Then we should tell the cops if not Hank.” I couldn’t live with myself if we let someone get off free with murder.

“Then I ain’t telling you.” She twisted around and put her hand on the knob of the office door. “If Paulette wants to tell you, then she can.”

“I want you to tell me.” I was going to have to promise not to tell Hank, which went against my moral compass of keeping secrets from a person I love.

“Can’t. Not if you’re going to tell Hank.” She jerked the door open and walked in.

I sucked in a deep breath. The clean, fresh air filled me with a peace. Or maybe it was just curiosity that made me want to agree to Dottie’s terms. Either way, I had to know.

“Fine.” I walked into the office and stopped in the middle, facing Dottie’s desk. “I promise not to tell Hank. For now.”

“For now?” She stared at me from over the computer monitor.

“Here me out.” I put Fifi down. She scurried over to the empty dog bowl. “You don’t think Jay hurt himself do you?”

“Nope. That’s why I called Paulette.” She clasped her hands, sat back in her office chair, and rested her hands on her belly.

I grabbed a cupful of kibble and poured it in Fifi’s bowl. It’d keep her occupied while I finished my conversation with Dottie.

“Hank and the coroner’s office think so.” I walked over to the coffee pot, grabbed the carafe, and refilled our mugs. “I’m not sure what money you’re talking about. I’m good at figuring crimes out.”

It was a fact I wished wasn’t true. Over the past year, I’d gotten myself into a few pickles that included murder, theft, and other unlawful deeds where I had to use my keen sense of sleuthing to help the police along with clues. Not that Hank wanted my help. No way. He’d tried many times to tell me to keep my nose out of his business and job. It wasn’t how I operated. I’d seen too much injustice in my life and wanted to make sure no one I loved had it in theirs. Including Dottie.

“You tell me what you are worried about. Money and all. Then I’ll help you figure out what you need help with. You and Paulette. I’ll help try to figure out your problem.” I put air quotes around the word problem since that was what she’d said to Paulette. “If we don’t find the outcome you want, then we drop it.”

I watched as Dottie nodded at what I’d said. She knew I was good at finding things out and how I didn’t stop until I got to the bottom of things. I’d proven myself many times, and she’d been right there with me even when she’d gotten herself mixed up in a murder.

“Me and Paulette aren’t for sure, but we believe Jay has over six hundred thousand dollars hidden somewhere in the stable.” She rolled that off her tongue like it was every-day talk.

“Excuse me?” I eased down in the chair as the shock ran through my body, making me a little weak in the knees.

Money was the last thing I had thought I’d hear her say. I was thinking it was an affair. Another woman. Cheating in a contest or competition with his horses. Anything other than money.

“Money,” she repeated.

“Yeah.” I blinked several times. “I heard that.”

“Then why did you ask me?” She snarled.

“I don’t understand. Why would he hide this money?” I stammered around the words as I wrapped my head around hiding cash.

“He stole it from the Normal Bank and Loan.” She mentioned it like it was just a normal conversation.

“Am I going to have to pull every little bit of information out of you.” I scooted to the edge of the chair and put my fist on top of the desk. “Or are you going to tell me what you are talking about?” I was tired of beating around the bush. Especially one that was worth six hundred thousand dollars.

“Years ago the Normal Bank and Loan was robbed. The police never found the robbers.” She sat back up in her seat and rested her elbows on the desk. “We were kids. I’m talking years ago when we were in our late teens. I ran around with Jay, Lee, Paulette, Brooke, Brownie. It was rumored Brownie and Jay had done it.”

“Did they?” I couldn’t wait to get to the answer or the rest of the story.

“According to them, no. Lee said he didn’t know anything about it, and they were together during the time of the robbery.” Her chest inflated as she took a deep breath through her nose and slowly went down as she let it out in a steady stream through her mouth.

“Paulette still thinks he had it?” I asked and watched Dottie slowly nod. “She was married to him. Wouldn’t she know?”

“Well, you’d think. You’d have to ask her about that. All I know is that she has reason to believe he did it. He was the robber.”

“How did you get involved now?” I asked.

“Paulette came back to town for a brief time after she’d left. She stayed here in the camper with me.” Dottie licked her lips. “She told me she was here to find that money. She needed the money, and he didn’t give her a dime from their divorce. She up and left and all that, leaving everything behind. You’ll have to ask her about that. That’s when we went to the stable and stole the gun.”

“How long ago was this?” I asked.

“Five years ago.” She shocked me with the time frame.

“Five years? I thought you said brief time.” I recalled she said Paulette had come back to town.

“It was brief. She left twenty years ago, only came back five years ago.” Dottie’s story gave me more questions than answers.

“Why now? Why didn’t she come back years ago?” I knew I was asking Dottie questions she didn’t know.

“I didn’t ask. She told me about the money, and I was curious. Even said she’d give me a cut.” Dottie wiggled her brows. “You remember what this place looked like when your husband…”

“Ex, now dead,” I reminded her.

“You remember how Paul ran this place.” She said the only name that still sent an arrow through my heart.

Not because I loved and missed him. It was the fact he’d completely changed my life as well as hundreds of others, which made me feel guilty even though I had nothing to do with it or any knowledge of it.

“I needed money to keep this place going and live myself.” She took some more sips of her coffee, leaving me deep in my thoughts.

“She didn’t find it?” I asked. “The money?” I asked again in case she didn’t know what I meant.

“Nope. Just the gun. She tried to take Rosa.” Dottie laughed. “Paulette jumped up bare back on that horse. Rosa bucked her off, leaving Paulette on the ground with a bruised butt bone. Funniest thing I ever saw.”

“Why did you tell Paulette that we have a problem?” I asked bringing it all back around to my original question.

“He found us in there. I stuck the gun in my waistband.” Her face stiffened. Her eyes set. “He told us that if he did have the money, she’d have to get it over his dead body.”

“Dead body?” I gulped. “She isn’t in town. How long will it take her to get here?”

About that time the door of the office flew open.

“I’m back.” A woman with a big smile on her face stood in the threshold of the office.

ELEVEN

I sat there frozen as the woman with stick straight black hair down to her belly button, wearing a pair of cotton paisley-printed bell-bottoms, a white tank top, wooden beads around her neck, and brown leather sandals, walked in. She pulled a knit cap off her head. I’d never seen a fifty-something-year-old hippy.

“Long time no see, doll. I love what you’ve done to the place. The campground is in tip-top shape.” She smiled, winked at Dottie, giving her the peace sign. “Excuse us, hon.” She walked past me and gestured me out the door. “We’ve got private business to discuss. If you don’t mind hitting the gravel.” Paulette moseyed across the office.

“Paulette Russel, meet Mae West.” Dottie stood up from her chair and gave Paulette a hug.

“Mae West? Right.” Paulette scoffed. “I’m Marilyn Monroe.” She elbowed Dottie. “I’ve smoked a lot of that wacky tobacky over the past twenty years, but I still know who I am.” She talked out of the side of her mouth as if it made her quieter. “You still get those nut job hikers around here, huh?” She was obviously referring to me.

“Paulette, this is Mae West, the owner of Happy Trails.” Dottie’s face was stone cold serious. “Mae’s married last name is West. As in Paul West.”

“Good ole Paul West.” Paulette looked at me with a disgust. “Yep. That man is why we are probably standing here right now.” She pointed to me but turned her attention to Dottie. “You told her.”

“She can help us.” Dottie gestured a cup of coffee to Paulette, but she waved it off.

“Not good for the innards. You should really try some juicing.” She gave Dottie a look. “I can see you’re still smoking.”

“You smoke.” Dottie threw it back at her.

“Only the good stuff, babe.” She winked. “Gonna be legal soon.”

“Nah. Not in Kentucky.” Dottie and Paulette had some sort of secret language between them that I’d seen in good friends before.

“How’s Mae West going to help us?” she asked. “I recall Jay telling me about how Paul West was going to help him. That’s when he leveraged the land. She gonna help us like that?”

“Oh, come on.” I threw my hands up in the air. “I’ve spent the better part of two years getting this community to forgive me. In fact, I’ve done so much work that I got a key to the city.” I stalked over to the wall where the key plaque was hanging.

“Babe, he’s why Jay had to put the old train station up for sale,” she told me again.

“I heard it the first time you said it,” I muttered under my breath.

“Paulette, Mae has really done well in Normal. We’ve forgotten about Paul and what he did. Well, forgot might be strong, but we have forgiven.” Dottie gave Paulette a side look with a theatrical wink, sending me into an internal rage that I was sure going to question her about when we were alone. “She has a knack for figuring things out. Like crime.” Dottie said without telling Paulette all the things I’d sleuthed on my own. “She can help us get to the bottom of what happened to Jay.”

Now Dottie seemed to be trying to stoke my ego. Cautiously, I sat there listening to the two old buddies banter back and forth.

“I know he’s dead, but he’s got that money somewhere in that stable, and we are going to find it.” Paulette’s greed started to show, surprising me a little.

“He already sold the property to Coke Ogden.” I mentioned the small tidbit that was the biggest bite.

“Good ole Coke. She always wanted to get her claws into Jay, and when he turned her down, she’d had it out for him ever since.” Paulette seemed a little bitter, but it was still some information that peeked some interest in my gut.

The scene of Coke and Jay fighting in the café the morning Betts and I had cleaned for her was one that I couldn’t forget. Especially the yelling between the two. The door of the office flew open again. All of us jerked around.

“There’s been news.” Hank stood at the door with his hand still curled around the door knob. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I thought Dottie and Mae were alone.”

“Hank, let me introduce you to Paulette Russel.” I looked at his face studying her. “She’s Jay’s ex-wife.”

He swallowed hard. “I’ve been trying to find you. We found your daughter.” He took a step forward.

“Hmm. She won’t have nothing to do with me.” Paulette snarled and looked at Dottie.

“I hate to meet you like this, but I do think you need to know that your ex-husband’s death has been turned into a homicide.” The words spilled out of Hank’s mouth. My mind went blank.

Homicide? I gulped. “Homicide?” I questioned again in disbelief.

“Yes. The gunshot knocked him into the electric fence.” He slid his gaze to me. “The bullet pulled from his body wasn’t from the gun next to his body. But it was from a gun model he does have registered to his name. A gun he’d reported stolen to the police about five years ago.”

Dottie stumbled backward and fell into her chair.

TWELVE

“She’s not eaten this morning,” Paulette told me. We were huddled over Dottie.

I looked at Paulette, wondering what on earth she was talking about. She’d not been here long and had no idea what Dottie had eaten or not eaten.

“Shhh.” Paulette’s glare at me made me a little nervous. “Shush,” she said through her gritted teeth.

“Stop fussing over me.” Dottie shoved her hands in our faces. “I need air.”

“You need to stop smoking.” Hank leaned his head to get a look at her. “Really, Dottie.”

“You get out of here and go find out who killed Jay.” She shooed him.

I walked over to him, leaving Paulette with Dottie. She wasted no time whispering into Dottie’s ear. Hank’s radar must’ve gone up because his eyes focused on the two of them and not me when I stood up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss.

“Hey,” I said and put my hand on his chin, turning it to face me. “Any suspects?”

“From what you said about Coke Ogden and him having a fight, I’m going to ask her what happened. Everyone he’s had a disagreement with is a suspect. Then,” he let out a heavy sigh, “I need to find the person using the stables. It could be as simple as the person getting back at him for continuing to kick him out and fighting him.”

“Maybe he was looking for—” I started to say.

“Shelter.” Paulette left Dottie and hurried over. She stood behind me and put a hand on each one of my shoulders. Her nails dug into my flesh, giving me a clear signal to shut my mouth. “For years, Jay and I had to run off all sorts of runaways and squatters. They were only looking for shelter on their hike through the national park.”

Hank looked between me and Paulette. “Yeah. Well, I’m sorry.”

There was a flash in his eye. The flash I’d noticed he’d get when he wasn’t fully believing the story he was being told. It was one of his little nuances I’d picked up on when he was not only investigating or interrogating, but also in his daily conversation with people. Hank always had his guard up.

“I’m not going to be catching up on sleep. I’m going to be at the station all day,” he said. “I’ll give you a call later.” He turned his attention back to me. He bent down for what I thought was going to be a kiss. He whispered, “Find out what she knows.”

I swallowed.

He gave me a kiss on the cheek and waved goodbye to Dottie.

“You know”—he turned back around at the door—“I’ve heard of hypnotists helping people who smoke. I’m not sure how it works, but I did hear something about they smoked their last cigarette before they went in and didn’t crave any after they went.” He gave a slight shrug. “Maybe you need to check that out.”

He didn’t wait for Dottie’s unfriendly finger gesture before he left the office. Paulette followed Dottie’s lead and did the same thing to Hank’s back. I wished he’d turned around. That would’ve been funny.

I stood there in silence, facing the door with my back to Dottie and Paulette, unsure how to address Paulette’s little finger signal.

“Hank is your boyfriend?” I heard disgust in Paulette’s voice. “You want me to trust her?”

“What is our other option?” Dottie questioned.

I jerked around. “Other option?” A nervous laugh escaped me. “What? You gonna kill me too?”

“Too?” Paulette’s little free-spirit act had flown out the window and completely left the park. She stalked over. “I didn’t kill my husband.”

“I’m sorry.” My smart aleck side took over. “Last I heard, he was your ex, and you left him and your daughter years ago. Leaving them both sad.”

“You have no idea what I went through, so before you judge me…” Paulette slowly walked closer and closer, making me dig my feet down like I was planting myself. Spit came out of her mouth as she spoke each word.

“Alrighty! This is getting us nowhere.” Dottie’s senses must’ve been coming back to her because she jumped up, knocking the chair to the ground, to put her body in between me and Paulette. “We’ve got a bigger problem than not finding the money.”

“Your big problem was not finding the money?” I asked about the original big problem Dottie had said to Paulette this morning on the phone.

“It was. Now the fact that he was murdered is our new problem because I think it was with that gun. The gun.” Dottie’s eyes grew big, referring to the gun that was stolen from her camper. “We find out who broke into my place, we find the killer.”

“That’s where we can use your little romance.” I didn’t like the direction Paulette was taking this conversation. “You need to make sure you question your little detective buddy all about suspects and everything else that goes along with finding out who killed Jay. Report back to us all while keeping your mouth shut about the money and the gun. Got it, doll?”

“Dottie,” I shifted my hips to the right and put my hands on my hips, “you know I can’t deceive Hank.”

“You don’t have an option, Mae. Got it?” Paulette’s tone was a little demented and actually scared me.

“Lay off her. Deep down Mae is one of us.” Dottie took her arm and put some room between me and Paulette. “Mae will do it.” Dottie looked at me and smiled. “Right, Mae? You’ll help me out for a few days. We’ve been through so much, and we are friends.”

“We are business partners.” Paulette told Dottie. “This business deal better not go wrong. Or else.”

“Or else what?” Dottie snarled.

“I’ve got people,” Paulette warned, sending chills along my arm. “You understand, Mae?”

“Yeah. I understand.” My eyes narrowed as I took in the fifty-year-old hippy. “But if I find out that either of you killed him, I’m going directly to Hank.” I jabbed Paulette in the chest with my finger. “Do you got it?”

Everyone putting me in a pickle. It soured my mood.

THIRTEEN

It was Dottie’s day to open and work at the campground. On check in days, we both worked, but since the guests who’d already made reservations were all checked in, we were back to our regular work schedule.

After I’d left Dottie and Paulette, I had to regroup and that meant getting ready for the day and getting Fifi all settled with her food and potty. I grabbed my crossbody and took my notebook out of the drawer, sticking it in the bag. It was where I’d put notes and thoughts from the previous little sleuthing cases I’d stuck myself on. Maybe it would come in handy for Jay.

Not that I didn’t want to help Dottie find the person who broke into her camper, but it was hard to help out Paulette. She didn’t care who killed Jay. She only wanted the money he had supposedly stolen.

The only way to find out if her story about the bank robbery was true was to head to the Normal Library and pay Abby Fawn a visit. Exactly what I had planned after I finished getting ready, which gave time for the sun to fully come up, and the library to open.

The drive over to the library gave me a couple of minutes to think about Paulette and Jay’s relationship. Why on earth would Paulette leave Glenda here with Jay? Why would Paulette leave? Why not stay in Normal and raise her daughter?

“One little duck went out to play.” The little voices to the preschool tune sounded so happy and cheerful, not to mention out of tune and loud, when I walked into the sliding doors of the library.

The sign at the front of the library had the day’s events on it, and it just so happened to be children’s time. Abby was sitting in the middle of a group of little people with her hands tucked up under her armpits, doing her best wing flapping.

There were a few stray little ones that were flapping around the circle. Abby tried to reel them in but gave up after a couple seconds. Our eyes met. We smiled at each other. I stood there watching her finish up her song. She nodded for one of the library employees to come over and take turns.

Abby slipped away while the other employee began to read the book to all the children. “What on earth are you doing here?” she asked.

I was glad to see she didn’t seem to be out of sorts about me riding with Ty to the hoedown. “Did you hear about Jay Russel?” I asked.

“There’s more news?” she asked and moved toward the reference counter where her office was located behind it.

“Yeah. Apparently, he was murdered.” My mind curled back to the night I found him. “You know, it doesn’t make sense. If he was killed from a gunshot wound…” I let my thoughts stop when I had no good plausible explanation about how he got tangled into the electric fence.

“What?” Abby abruptly stopped. “I know that look of yours. What are you thinking? You’re not going to get involved are you?”

“I think we need to get the Laundry Girls together.” It was code for letting her know that I was planning on putting my nose in it. “But not Dottie. She’s working today.”

Abby gave me a strange look.

“Happy Trails is booked solid, and I have to have someone there at all times.” I played off her curiosity, and that seemed to pacify her.

“Okay.” She looked down at her watch. “I can be there around lunch.”

“Perfect, I’ll text the girls.” I hesitated. “Did you ever hear about a savings and loan or some bank around here getting robbed?”

She walked around the counter. “No. Recently?” she asked and sat down in one of the chairs behind the reference desk. She tapped away.

I put my elbows on the counter, leaning on them.

“It was a long time ago, when Dottie was young. If there was”—I pointed to the computer— “it’d be in your system, right?”

“A bank here in Normal?” she asked. Her eyes scanned the screen. “So sad.”

“Huh?” I wasn’t following.

“I just pulled up the news about Jay.” She sighed with an empathetic look crossing her face. “I took horse riding lessons from him when I was a kid. He was so good at his craft.”

“I had no idea you rode horses.” There were still so many things I didn’t know about the friends I’d made since moving to Normal. “But what about the robbery?” I asked, bringing her back to the reason I was here.

“Let me look.” She moved to a different computer and typed away. “Bank robbery.” She spoke as she typed. “There.” She hit enter and sat back in the chair, looking at the screen. “Just waiting to see what the database has. I’ve never heard of any.”

“According to Paulette Russel, Jay was the robber and has hidden the money all these years.” I watched Abby’s face go from being curious to an oh-my-goodness shocked face.

“There was.” She gasped and jerked back to sitting straight. “Like years ago.”

I could see the reflection of the screen in her eyes as she read the monitor.

“I had no idea.” She looked up at me, her mouth forming an O. Abby had always been so proud of her knowledge of Normal. “Normal Bank and Loan went bankrupt, leaving the Fawn family...” Her voice melted away.

“Fawn family?” I questioned.

“My great-grandfather owned the bank.” Her big brown eyes blinked several times. “I’ve never heard of this.”

A look of disbelief flushed her face. She grabbed a water bottle with the Tupperware logo on it. She screwed the lid off and downed the contents.

“I wish this was liquor.” She swallowed. She put her hand up to her mouth as the other hand continued to scroll the information she’d pulled up. “Talk about southern families sweeping stuff under a rug.”

“Why would your family do that? It wasn’t your family’s fault the bank got robbed.” There were so many things running through my head. “What about your property on Fawn Road? Did that have anything to do with the bank?” Betts had mentioned how Abby’s family had owned that, but it was in bankruptcy, which was how the Russel family got it.

She continued to type away, hitting the print button. “From just the little research here, it says that the Old Train Station property had to be sold by auction to the highest bidder after my great-grandfather, Roland Fawn, had to pay back for not having enough insurance through the FDIC to cover all the loss of the robbery.”

“It just so happens, the owner was Jay Russel’s family.” I knew it couldn’t be Jay because, according to Dottie’s story, they were teens or in their late teens.

“Yeah.” Abby licked her lips. “I’ve got to ask my parents about this. How did you know this again?”

“That’s what I wanted to meet with the Laundry Club gals. I think Jay’s killer also believed that Jay was the robber. According to his ex-wife, she believed he was, too, and he’d hidden it on the property.” I tried to keep the story simple because I could see Abby wasn’t fully listening. She was deep in her own thoughts.

“If that is the case, why did he have the property for sale all these years, and why did Coke Ogden all of a sudden buy it?” Abby asked a very good question that I knew only Coke could answer.

“The Old Train Station Motel is the next stop on my list,” I said.

“Why are you trying to figure this out?” she asked.

“You know me.” I shrugged. “Curious. I found Jay and feel a little obligated to find out why someone did this to him.”

“I’ll head on over to my parents and see what I can gather.” She grabbed the papers off the printer, stapled them, and handed them to me. “Here’s what I found. You take these, go see Coke, and I’ll text the gals to meet us.” With a purposeful walk, Abby headed to her office.

She was on a mission to get to the bottom of this family secret, and I couldn’t wait to hear what she found out.

FOURTEEN

The library was located in downtown Normal. The Old Train Station was located at the far northern border of town. It gave me a few minutes to gather my thoughts about everything I’d learned since I’d gotten up at four a.m.

Betts had mentioned the Fawn’s going bankrupt years ago, forcing them to sell the property where the Old Train Station was located. It just so happened it was Jay Russel’s family who’d bought the property around the same time of the Normal Bank and Loan robbery.

According to Paulette, she believed he was the one who robbed the bank, but it didn’t make sense to me why he’d never used the money or even told her. Why did Paulette think he had the money? What did she observe? Why come back all these years? Why did Paulette wait so long to come back? Five years compared to the twenty years she was gone? The place went up for sale. She wanted the money before he sold. She had mentioned the friends that had hung out together.

“Jay, Lee, Paulette, Brooke, and Brownie.” I looked over at the papers in the passenger seat and wondered if Abby could look up these Brooke and Brownie persons.

If they were around, I might be able to get some information out of them. Abby was right in questioning why I was even doing this. I really couldn’t pinpoint it. For one, I knew Dottie didn’t kill him even if it was a long shot that the gun Jay had reported stolen five years ago was that gun.

What if other people knew about this so-called robbery and Jay’s ties? They might’ve been there like Dottie and Paulette. Jay was a hunter like all the other men in Normal. They owned several guns, and his gun rack in the back of his truck was a proud display of that.

“Gun rack.” I wondered if there were any guns missing from there.

Then there was the electric fence. That really haunted me. I didn’t know much about those, but if Jay was shot, how did he get in between the electric fence. Just by sheer gravity, he’d fallen on top, then maybe slid down. At least it was something for me to look at when I got there.

There were cars all lined up in front of the motel. From what Coke had said, all the rooms had been rented, and it was a great turn out for the hoedown. Too bad it was abruptly cut short.

I parked at the far end and decided to not even look for her. I had many things to ask her to confirm what Paulette had said about her making a pass on Jay. That was even too far-fetched for me to believe, but I was also beginning to believe there wasn’t a robbery either.

The sun was bright and warmed my skin. I grabbed my rain boots and changed out my shoes. I sucked in a deep breath and headed around the building instead of going through the courtyard. I really wanted to get a look at the place where I’d tripped over Jay’s body. The ground was nice and soggy from all the rain. Every time I lifted my foot, there was a suction sound bringing back memories of me romping around my biological family’s home.

Good memories of my childhood home before I was put into foster care were more painful than fulfilling. Maybe my past was the reason I wanted to look into crimes or help out people. After the fire engulfed my home and my family, it’d started off my curiosity on how and why things happened.

Sounds of laughter brought me out of my head and back to the reason I was here. The doors to the barn were pulled open. The band was long gone, but the tables were still in there and decorated with the red and white buffalo-checked tablecloths. The flowers were wilted from what I could see when I hurried past.

There was some activity at that stables, but I didn’t care to see what that was about, just yet. I had my mind set on seeing the exact place where Jay was murdered. Off in the distance, I could see the electric fence. I’d not even noticed it when I’d gone back here to watch Jay with the horses.

“What exactly happened?” I looked at the fence and matted down grass just beyond where Jay’s bottom half of his body had been when I tripped over him. “Your chest was here.” I talked to myself and looked at the sag of the fence.

Police spray paint was still in the grass where it showed the outline of Jay’s body and ran along the edge of the fence.

“So…” I stood a few feet away along the fence from where his body had landed and put my arms out. “If someone shot me, I’d stumble back and hit the fe—whoa!” I screamed, smacking down on my butt. “Dang mud.”

I stood up and looked at the mess I’d made from slipping on the mud. I ran my hands down my leg to get off the excess, but it was the slide marks my feet made that grabbed me.

“There’s no drag marks.” I gasped when I noticed my feet had dragged in the wet, soggy, and muddy grass. “If he fell back, his heels would’ve dragged. It was raining, and there’s no way he didn’t make a mess,” I whispered as the images of Jay falling just confirmed what I noticed.

“Excuse me?” The male voice caused me to jump around and almost lose my footing again.

“Hi,” I greeted Lee. “I didn’t hear you come up.”

“Who are you talking to?” He looked around.

“Myself.” I gestured to my muddy clothes. “I was saying how clumsy I am.”

“It happens after a rain. It makes everything out here a soppy mess.” He looked up at the sun. “It’ll harden with the sun beating down like it is.”

“Gonna be a hot one.” I felt a little nervous around him and wasn’t sure why. I glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone else noticed us.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked.

“Making peace with my finding Jay.” I shook my head, hoping any sort of excuse about me getting the heck out of there would pop in my jumbled-up brain. “I feel awful, and I couldn’t sleep last night. I can’t help but think if I’d found him a little earlier, I’d have seen the murderer.”

“Murderer?” Lee’s eyes filled with fear. “Did you say murderer?”

“Yeah. Haven’t you heard? Jay was murdered.” I probably should’ve kept my mouth shut, but how he was acting really got me in the sleuthing mood. “Apparently, Jay had robbed a bank years ago. It’s rumored the cash is around here somewhere.” I watched as Lee tried to keep a steady look on his face, show no emotion, but the movement of his Adam’s apple told me he was gulping back some massive thoughts. “He’d reported a gun missing about five years ago. The sheriff’s department didn’t find any guns that fit the bullet that killed him in his house, but it sure did fit the gun that was stolen.” I shrugged and took a step toward the motel. “I don’t know much.”

“Don’t you date that detective?” His jaw tensed.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t tell me much.” I took another few steps. “Just what I told you. But you probably don’t know—” I turned back around to face him, but he was gone. “What made you so jumpy?” I asked and watched Lee hauling it back to the stable. “Why are you in Jay’s stable?”

Paulette Russel wasn’t innocent in my opinion, but she did say Lee was part of the group who’d hung out during the robbery. Lee and Jay were definitely fighting the other day. Even though Hank said Lee had a great business already, it seemed the competitions they entered were very competitive. Lee did mention Sarah, the young rider Jay was working with, and how she was going to be big or something. To me, it didn’t matter how much money Lee already had. It was the extra notch on his belt that he’d be the trainer Sarah would win under.

Which made me wonder if Lee killed Jay for that reason only, and maybe there wasn’t any sort of money around here.

I glanced back over to the riding ring. Lee was standing in the same spot I’d last seen Jay. Goosebumps crawled up my leg and across my muddy arms.

Instead of letting Lee intimidate me, I pulled back my shoulders and walked straight over to the stable. I’d come here to check out the exact spot where I’d tripped over Jay’s body and to check out the stable. Lee wasn’t going to stop me. Just in case, I did go through the front of the stable and hurried inside so he wouldn’t see me.

It was exactly the way I remembered it from the other night, only today the lights were working. The transistor radio, tuned to an oldies station, was sitting on an overturned five-gallon bucket, and the same horses were sticking their heads out of their stalls. The only movement came from the far end where the ring was located. Every few seconds, Sarah and her horse trotted past followed up with a few instructions belted out by Lee.

Rosa wasn’t in her stall when I made it down there. I looked around to see if I could see a horse wandering free, but it was all clear. I walked in and noticed the stall had been mucked. There was a bag of food hanging from the stall door and a trough full of water. It didn’t appear she’d been in here.

There was a tack cabinet in the far right corner. When I focused on it, my mind told me to open it, but my heart told me to stop snooping or else. It was beckoning me to open it. The pull was too great. Or maybe it was the curiosity. Still, I had to see what was inside.

I gave one last glance around my shoulder to see if anyone was in the stable with me. The coast was clear and so was my conscious of not looking. Carefully, I opened the double doors in case they were going to squeak. The yellowing around the tape holding up the photos taped on the doors told me they’d been there a long time.

I took a closer look and noticed a little girl with eyes that looked like Jay’s on a horse that looked a lot like Rosa. Not that I would know for sure, but I noticed the horse in the photo was also an Appaloosa. The white stripe with brown spots around the abdomen of the horse looked exactly like Rosa’s. Then again, I’d never been around horses, so I was no expert.

There were two shelves on the right side, and the left side was open with hooks at the top. Horse reins were on the hooks and a covered saddle was lying on the bottom. The top shelf had grooming items along with other various creams and salves I didn’t recognize.

There was a stack of journals. Being the nosy person I was, I took one off the shelf. I rubbed my finger over the embossed gold lettering stamped on the front that read Jay Russel. I quickly thumbed through it. It appeared he kept all his trade secrets in there along with different clients’ names and phone numbers.

“Now what are you doing in here?” Lee’s voice was loud and stern behind me.

He scared me, making me jump and lunge forward. I banged my shoulder into the tack box, knocking it a little side goggling. The journal fell out of my hands.

“Are you okay?” He hurried in and put his hand out for me to take as I sat there on my knees. “You’re a mess.”

“Thanks.” I groaned after I took his hand and was jerked to my feet. I ran my hand over my knee and gave it a little rub. “Where’s Rosa?”

“No one knows. She’s not been back since Jay let her out.” Lee seemed certain it was Jay that let her out.

“You think he did? I mean—” I shuffled the toe of my rain boot in the hay on the floor, moving it around. “I heard he’d never let her out in a rain storm. She was scared of thunder and lightning.”

“I’m sure that’s why he was here. Putting on the music for her, and he probably walked in on another stowaway. That’s probably who killed him now that you said they are calling his death a homicide.” Lee looked to the right at a couple who were walking down the middle of the stable. He gave them a quick chin lift. The couple waved.

“You’ve got it all figured out.” My confidence had seemed to rise since we were no longer alone. “I mean, just in that short time from when I told you he was murdered”—I referred to when I’d slipped and fell in the mud near Jay’s murder location—“you came up with that.”

“It makes sense.” He put his hand out in front of me. “Don’t you go around making assumptions you can’t back up.”

“Did I make an assumption?” I asked with furrowed brows.

“You are implying that I’ve made up a story to fit why he’d be killed, and that makes me think you think I had something to do with Jay’s death.” He sucked in a deep breath. His chest expanded, and he was suddenly a lot taller than me.

His bullying wasn’t going to work on me. “I think it’s strange that I noticed you and Jay fighting the other day when you were here poaching his client. Sarah, right?” My eyes narrowed. “I mean, like you said, it’s big business around here, and the horse competitions are very important to families. With Jay out of the way, I’d think your business would flourish. Maybe give you one of those top prizes to hang on your wall.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He spit down on the ground, narrowly missing my boot. “Why don’t you take your little trash self back to the camper park where you belong.”

He gave me one last good hard stare before he turned around to walk out of the stall.

It took me a second to gather my wits and breath. I took the moment to close the tack cabinet and push it back to where it was before I’d knocked into it. Using my hands, I grabbed under the wood cabinet, pricking my finger on a piece of wood sticking down from the bottom.

“Crap.” I jerked my finger out and wiped the blood on my shirt. “A little mud, a little blood. Nothing is going to come out of this shirt.” I groaned and decided to leave the cabinet right where it was.

“Mae, what are you doing out here?” Coke was standing in the open stall door.

“I came out to check on a few things dealing with Jay.” I wasn’t sure if she had heard. “Jay was murdered.”

“I just heard from Lee’s text.” She gave me a mothering look that told me I was annoying Lee. “What’s going on? Shouldn’t Hank be handling this?”

Her eyes glanced past my shoulder and focused on the tack cabinet.

“He is.” I got a sneaking suspicion that Lee and Coke had talked about more than him telling her I was there snooping around. “It was a closer thing for me. I couldn’t sleep, and when I heard he was murdered, I wanted to come pay my respects to the spot and Rosa.”

“That’s mighty kind of you, but Lee is trying to help me move Jay’s clients, so if you don’t mind, we can move our conversation up to the café.” She wasn’t offering to talk to me there. She was telling me that we were leaving. “Maybe we can get you cleaned up and a hot cup of coffee.”

“Do you know what happened to Rosa?” I asked, taking the heat off of Lee.

He didn’t pay any attention to me when we passed him and the couple on the way out of the stable.

“No clue. I’ve got the park rangers looking out for her. I’m not sure how long she can survive out there with the wildlife.” Coke’s words made me feel such deep sadness for Rosa. “I was hoping she’d come back, but as the hours pass, I’m not sure she will.”

“She was witness to awful things,” I said and squinted when we walked out.

The sun was burning brighter than before I’d walked into the stable. The grass had a little dew left on it from the morning, but it would take no time to burn off. Our feet made sloshing noises as we made our way across the field.

“You know, Mae, I appreciate you stopping by, but it’s private property now.” Coke’s attitude had changed. “If you want to look around, please call me first.”

“I thought you told me you wanted me to help you. It’s what you said at the Laundry Club that night.” I was shocked by her change of heart. “You said he was murdered, and you were right.”

“After talking to Glenda, I think I overstepped my authority in her father’s death, and I’m not looking for your help anymore.” She stopped shy of the Caboose Diner door.

“You talked to Glenda?” I questioned when I heard Jay’s daughter’s name.

“She’s staying here. We go back a long way. I’ve been sorta a mother figure for her since her so-called mother left her and Jay long ago. If I weren’t a southern lady, I’d call Paulette some names that would make me feel dirty.” She shivered like she was shrugging off something yucky.

“I’d like to give Glenda my condolences.” I decided to keep my mouth shut about Paulette being back in town.

“She’s right there through the door.” Coke pointed through the Caboose Diner window at a girl with a menu up to her face sitting alone at one of the tables. “Come on. I’ll introduce you.”

The diner was full, and the chatter covered any silence. Typical diner sounds like the clinking of dishes, the sound of a cash register, and the calls of food orders being yelled at the short order cook could be heard.

“Glenda.” Coke interrupted Glenda’s perusal of the menu. “This is Mae West. The lady I told you about.”

Glenda slowly moved the menu down from her face. Her eyes popped over the top. She laid the menu down on the table and clasped her hands on top of it. Her long red hair wasn’t expected. She definitely didn’t favor her mother. There was a resemblance of her father’s eyes, but that was about it. She had olive skin and gray eyes. A very unusual and striking combination.

“I hear you found my father.” She spoke in a soft voice and moved her hand in a gesture for me to sit down. “I’d like to repay you for that.” She took the napkin from her lap and dabbed the edges of her eyes. “If you’d not come along, I’m not sure how long he’d have laid there with who knows what trying to eat him like they’ve done poor Rosa.”

“Rosa is dead?” I eased down in the chair.

“We don’t know that.” Coke patted Glenda’s back. “I’ll be right back with your coffee,” Coke said to me.

“I’d like a refill, please.” Glenda smiled at Coke, then turned her attention back to me. “How did you know my father?” Glenda asked me.

“I didn’t. I just met him a couple mornings ago when he was chasing that guy out of the barn.” I moved my hand out of the way for Coke to place the mug down. The steam rolled off the top of the mug. It smelled so good.

“Guy? Chasing my father?” She looked at Coke for an answer.

“I didn’t bother telling you about the squatters he’s been running off. They get in the barn and do God knows what, and it bothers the horses.” Coke stood over the table.

“Can you please leave me and Mae to talk?” Glenda kindly asked Coke to leave.

By the look on Coke’s face, she was a bit shocked and reluctantly gave in.

“I don’t know you, but I’m a lawyer, and I read people pretty well.” The expression and tone of Glenda’s body language changed. “I can see that you’re either hiding something or dying to tell me something. Which one is it?”

“Both.” I chewed on my lip, trying to figure out what I was going to tell her first.

“Go on. I’m all ears if it’s going to help solve my father’s murder.” Glenda Russel was no way brought up in Normal. Not that the people here were backwards, but we had a way about us, and you could tell when someone wasn’t from here, and she was that.

Maybe all sophisticated. The lines around her eyes were a little deeper for her to be my age, but she held it well. She was like the girls I used to hang out with in New York City. Her perfectly lined lips, makeup, two-piece modern jumpsuit, and strappy sandals were enough for me to miss the life Paul had given me. Only for a second. I sure didn’t miss him or his conniving ways.

“Creamer?” She pushed the small cup my way.

“No. I’m good.” I did take a sip of the courage-inducing liquid before I told her my thoughts. “I know your dad was fighting with squatters like Coke said, but I also know that when he was younger…”

“He robbed a bank.” She cackled. “I see Paulette has gotten in your ear. Where is she? Where’s she staying? I figured she’d come running as soon as the police found her. Wanting her half of the money my father supposedly stole.” She leaned in and whispered, “Don’t believe her. She’s crazy.”

“What about this property? I mean, his family couldn’t afford it until the Fawn’s had to claim bankruptcy due to the bank robbery. Did they have the money to buy the place? Where did that money come from?” I asked. “Lee? What about him?”

She continued to smile and ran her long fancy painted fingernail around the rim of her mug like I was entertaining her. “Mae, he’s my father’s best friend. You are a storyteller. You fit right on in around here with all those tall tales.” She let off an air of conceit that made my insides growl.

“He is already trying to take clients, and your dad’s body isn’t even cold yet.” I knew it was a harsh statement, but the facts were facts. “The man is dead because of something. You keep dismissing anything I’m telling you.”

“So you’re saying that someone killed my father for the money he stole during the bank robbery. Or Lee because he wanted my father’s clients?” Glenda asked. Coke walked up and Glenda pointed to her. “What about Coke? She’s got a great motive.”

“Motive for what?” Coke’s jaw dropped.

“Killing my dad,” Glenda said with a straight face. Coke turned all shades of color. “According to my mother, you’ve always wanted to get your claws into him.” She laughed. Coke didn’t. “I’m kidding. Relax.” Glenda patted Coke’s arm. “Mae is giving me all sorts of reasons for someone to have killed my father.” Glenda sat back and put her arm across the chair next to her. “Tell her your tall tales, Mae.”

I decided not to take her up on her offer, but I needed a burning question answered.

“How’s your room here?” I asked Glenda.

“It’s amazing.” She gave Coke another smile. “Coke has done an amazing job with the place.”

“I thought you said the motel was booked. How did she get a room?” I addressed Coke.

“I’ve had my reservation since the day she told me she was opening it.” Glenda really got my interest up. “I love what she did with the barn for the hoedown, don’t you?”

“I’m so glad you got to visit with your dad before…” I stopped talking.

“I didn’t see my dad,” she said, giving me another little ping to the gut.

“You’ve been here since the opening, and you didn’t visit with your dad?” I found that to be super odd. She found it offensive.

“Ahem.” Coke cleared her throat. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave if you’re going to antagonize my customers.”

“Excuse me? You invited me here.” I picked up my mug and drank the last sip. “I certainly don’t want to be where I’m not wanted.” I got up.

Once I was outside of the Caboose Diner and into the courtyard, I turned back and looked into the window. “There’s something fishy going on,” I said to myself while I watched Coke and Glenda huddled together, discussing something important. At least, the intense look on their faces told me I’d struck a nerve.

What did I say?

FIFTEEN

“Where are you?” Hank asked after I answered his call on my way back into town to meet up with the Laundry Club. “Wait, let me guess. Bugging Lee.”

“Bugging Lee?” I laughed. “He’s the one who came up to me. I didn’t seek him out. Though I did find out he is working with Sarah Kaskle. If that’s not motive enough for him to be a suspect in Jay’s murder, I don’t know what is. Well,” I continued to ramble, “besides the fact that Jay’s daughter has been in town for a couple of days before the murder. She said that she didn’t visit with her dad, which makes me think there was some sort of problem between them, and she certainly doesn’t care for her mother either.”

“Are you finished?” He asked.

I slowed the car when I noticed a doe and a couple babies were about to cross the road. Deer were everywhere, and it was always good to keep an eye out.

“You know. In every other species, the mom really does take care of her babies.” My thoughts were filled with Paulette and why she’d leave her only child. “Anyways, I’m telling you that you need to go interview her too.”

“Now are you finished?” he asked in an annoyed tone.

“I think so.” I wasn’t good at committing to something like that because I generally said things that popped into my head. By the way he was talking, I could tell that I was going to have to put that filter in place and really think about what I was saying to him.

“Thank you for all the information.” He didn’t sound too appreciative. “We already talked to Lee. We know all about the clients. We also knew Glenda was in town because when I called her to tell her about her dad, she told me she was at the Old Train Station Motel. It’s not strange to me because she and Coke are really close.”

“Their relationship might not be strange, but for her not to talk to her dad? What’s that about?” I looked over at the grassy median on my way down Main Street to the Laundry Club.

Hikers with huge backpacks, food, and cups of coffee were sitting at the picnic tables. The cups had the Cookie Crumble logo on them. I wondered if Christine Watson had been visited by the hiker who Jay had chased.

“What about the guy hiding out in the barn? Did you get any leads on him? Do you think it was really the same guy from the campground that night?” My mind was going a million miles a minute. I wanted to get all the information I could from Abby and Christine. Plus it didn’t help that I’d not gotten all the answers I wanted from Paulette.

“Mae,” Hank said my name a few times to interject.

But I continued. “I just don’t understand how Jay had to sell the property. I think we need to look into that too.” I was about to tell him about the land and the mention the robbery. I pulled into the parking space in front of the laundromat.

“Mae! Stop!” I pulled the phone away from my ear when he yelled so loud.

There was dead silence.

“Mae, I called really for two things. Now, I’ve decided there’s three. First, my parents want to have us over for supper. Can you do that?” he asked.

“Tonight?” I searched my mind, giving me some time to think if I was going to have to do anything about this murder or see anyone.

“Yes. Tonight.” The long sigh he let out was enough to let me know he’d about reached his limit with me today.

“I’d love to.” I lied. The last place I wanted to be was with them. They weren’t exactly the most welcoming parents. Plus, he’d mentioned going out to dinner yesterday. What happened to that? “What’s the second and third thing?”

“Secondly, I was going to tell you to stay away from the motel. There’s no reason for you to be there.”

“But someone put Jay…” I wanted to tell him how Jay didn’t fall into the electric fence.

“Please. Stop.” His words were stiff. “I’m telling you to stay away, or they will put a restraining order on you.”

I clenched my lips so I wouldn’t talk. My nose flared as I sucked in deep breaths to stay calm.

“Third.” He paused just a second. “Do not continue to look into this. I don’t know how many times I’ve told you in the past to stop snooping.”

“You’ve also told me to snoop. Remember last time?” What was it with him? “Sure, use me when it’s convenient for you.”

“Mae, this is going to be a long investigation. We’ve got a lot to do, and you can’t go full force where you shouldn’t be snooping. We’ve got it covered. Understand?” he asked.

I didn’t respond.

“Mae, I need you to say you understand.” He left no room to just leave the silence.

“Fine. I understand.”

I understood, but it didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to stop looking into the evidence and clues I’d already gathered that itched my curiosity.

Little did Hank or anyone else in Normal realize that when I got an itch, I scratched it.

SIXTEEN

Betts had the door to the laundromat propped open, which meant all the machines were taken and in use. No matter how low she had the air conditioner thermostat, it was never efficient when all the machines were in use.

“There you are.” Betts greeted me from the side of the laundromat where she fulfilled personal orders.

“Do you need some help folding?” I asked, offering to chip in wherever I could.

“Yeah.” Her brows rose. “Grab that dryer right there.” She pointed to a dryer a couple down from the one she was pulling from. “You look like something is on that mind of yours besides Jay. Is it Abby?”

“Abby?” I jerked my head and looked at her, a tee-shirt dangling from my grip.

“The whole Ty thing.” Betts caught me off guard. “I told her it was innocent, but she’s still upset that he told her she was boring. Now she thinks she’s got to be someone like you.”

“Like me?” Now I was really getting offended.

“You know. Vibrant. Full of life. Don’t take no.” Betts put the shirt she was folding in the customer’s bag sitting on the counter. “Just like Jay. You found out he was murdered, and you’re determined to get to the bottom of it.”

“About that.” Betts and I turned to see who was eavesdropping on us. It was Coke. “You must think I’m a whacko. Telling you one minute to look into Jay and the next not.”

“Coke.” I sighed and turned back to the dryer and folded a couple more pieces of clothing. “Don’t worry. Hank called, and I got your message loud and clear.”

“But you didn’t.” She appeared to be noodling something in her head. She looked around. “I’m not so sure Glenda didn’t do it.”

“Kill her own father?” Betts pulled a pair of pants to her chest like a protective blanket.

“It’s possible.” Coke looked around. None of the laundromat customers were paying a bit of attention to us. “Jay was in financial trouble. That’s why the place was for sale. I wasn’t able to finance all of it myself. Jay had Glenda draw up the paperwork. That’s when she came in as a silent partner. Majority owner really.” Coke sucked in a deep breath. The lines around her eyes deepened. “Jay found out about it when he was in my office, snooping around, and went crazy after he’d seen the contract between me and her. He didn’t understand why Glenda didn’t give him the same deal when he’d gone to her before he’d agree for me to purchase it.”

I started to come up with all sorts of reasons for Jay and Glenda to have gotten into an argument. “Go on. I’m listening.”

I pretended not to be as invested as I was and grabbed some more clothing and folded it, hoping she’d continue. I noticed the customers, who were hikers, had left their machines and gathered across the street with their other friends in the median.

“Jay was having a hard time getting a place to keep up his client’s lessons. Even though he was going to retire after this year, he still wanted to find something for the summer months. That’s when I told him I’d let him use the stable all summer long if he let me keep Rosa at the end,” she said.

“All summer? I’d heard it was just a few weeks.”

“You know how it is around here. We say we’ll see you in a minute, and it could be ten minutes or two days.”

She was right. Life was slow around here and time was just nothing to the locals. Sort of frustrating for a type A personality like myself.

“You want Rosa?” I asked. “I thought you wanted to make the stable into a wedding venue.”

“I do. My granddaughter is getting into riding, and I thought Rosa would be a great gal for my granddaughter to be trained on first.” Coke made sense.

“What did he say?” I asked and pulled out the last piece of clothing from the dryer.

“He was reluctant about it. After he thought about it for a few minutes, he started laughing out loud, saying how it would kill Glenda if I made that deal since she thought Rosa was always hers.” Coke gulped.

My jaw dropped. “Do you think Glenda let Rosa out of the stable, and when Jay went to put on the radio, he caught her. They fought, and that’s when she killed him?” I leaned back on the dryer and looked between Betts and Coke.

“How did she know I had the gun?” Dottie’s voice was overheard between the running machines.

“Well, well, well. Look who is standing right in front of me.” Paulette stood in the doorway of the Laundry Club with Dottie next to her. Paulette took very precise steps with Coke in her sights. “You just couldn’t live with the fact that Jay was never going to be with you. You finally had enough rejection and killed him.”

“Don’t you start with me.” The words seethed out of Coke’s mouth. “You’re the one who left. I tried to get you to stay.”

“Ladies.” I stepped in between them before they could get any closer. “This isn’t helping us figure out what happened to Jay.”

I was careful with my words because both of them had very good motive to kill him. I wasn’t taking one side over the other. Though, they both seemed adamant the other did it.

“You think Coke did it, and Coke thinks you did it,” I told Paulette. “Both of you have good reason, but I can say I also think Glenda, Lee, and the mysterious hiker have motives as well.”

“Glenda?” The hurt in Paulette’s eyes even hurt me. “My baby loves her daddy. That’s why I left her with him.”

“Loved him? They fought from the day you rode out of Normal on that high horse of yours. Look at you.” Coke’s nose snarled. “You look ridiculous in those baggy pants. You used to be a pretty woman. You’ve done went and gotten all leathery skin and scraggly.”

“Look at you.” Paulette shot back. “You think you’re something now that you got that land. The land that’s rightfully the Fawn’s because you and that gang of yours stole that bank money.” Paulette was laying it all out on the table. “If you think for one minute my baby killed her father, you’ve lost your mind.”

There was definitely animosity between the two that ran so deep that this little interaction at the Laundry Club wasn’t going to solve anything.

“I didn’t steal any bank money. All that free living you’re doing is messing with your brain.” Coke rolled her eyes so hard, I heard them.

“Why don’t we look at the facts?” I suggested, hoping we could all take a deep breath.

Dottie looked around. Betts looked around. Coke and Paulette continued their standoff.

“Betts put on some coffee. I’ve got my notebook with me.” I sat the customer’s bag on the counter with the receipt slip Betts had given me to put on it.

“Fine,” Coke muttered.

“Whatever,” Paulette said with a stiff upper lip.

“Who is at the office?” I asked Dottie on our way over to the couches.

“Henry. I checked on all the guests before I left, and everyone had a plan for the day,” she told me and sat down on the couch next to Paulette. “Do you have anything ready for the theme party?”

“Gosh. I totally forgot about that.” I’d been so engrossed in Jay’s murder, I’d forgotten all about this weekend’s Happy Trails monthly theme party I was throwing.

The monthly get-together wasn’t just for the guests of the campground. It was also open to the public. It was a great way for everyone in the community to come together. This weekend’s party just might be the thing we needed.

“I need to go see Alvin Deters to see what he wants to do about the kayak lessons he was going to offer in the pond,” I said and glanced out the window across the median where Deter’s Feed-N-Seed was located, wondering if Hank had caught the person or persons who had broken into his shop. It would be a perfect excuse to pick Alvin’s brain.

“I can head over there after this. I wanted to check on him and see how he’s doing since the big robbery.” Dottie wanted to get in on the gossip.

“If I don’t have time, I’ll send you over.” It would be a great second option if I couldn’t make it there, but I really wanted to see for myself if there were any leads on the burglaries without having to ask Hank. “I think the kayak lessons are going to be popular.”

It was that time of the year when most hikers and campers spent a lot of time in the water areas of the Daniel Boone National Park. The only problem was most of them had no idea how to kayak or white water raft on their own. There were businesses in Normal that gave tours and sent them out on these excursions, but most the time tourists didn’t want to be bothered with lessons. That’s when people got into danger.

“Good afternoon,” Queenie French trilled when she grapevined into the laundromat, doing her best Jazzercise move. Her shimmery gold exercise pants glistened when the sunlight beaming through the windows caught them at just the right angle. She had on a baggy shirt with a wide neck that fell off one shoulder. It was gathered around her waist by her fanny pack. “What’s the meeting about?”

“I’m here.” Abby rushed in and appeared to be out of breath. “Just on time.”

She stood in the middle of all the ladies with a confused look on her face when she noticed Coke and Paulette.

“We didn’t kill anyone,” both of them said in unison.

“Okay.” Abby reached over to the extra mugs of coffee Betts had placed on the coffee table. “Let’s get started. I don’t have a lot of time to be away from the library.”

“Before I forget.” I took the notebook out of my bag along with my pen. “Can you do some marketing about the Happy Trails theme party?”

“Yes. I will.” She was already reaching in her pocket for her phone. It was so natural to her. She retrieved some folded papers from the other pocket. “I also have more articles about the bank robbery. And I talked to my parents.”

“Oh geesh.” Coke threw her hands up in the air.

“What? I think he did it.” Paulette glared at her. The temporary truce seemed be over. “Over the years, we didn’t have many luxuries, but if we needed quick cash, instead of saving for it, he’d come up with some excuse of how a client paid him extra for lessons. Or if a client won, they’d give him some parts of the monetary winnings.”

I wrote down everything she was saying in bullet points. I never knew what was going to come to light and what facts I could use.

“I’m not talking little money either. Once we were having some marital issues, and he whisked me off on a European vacation when Glenda was just a baby. You remember that?” she asked Dottie.

“Mmhhhmmm,” Dottie hummed behind her rolled-in lips.

“We couldn’t hardly afford diapers, but somehow we got someone to babysit for her.” Paulette snapped her fingers and pointed at me. “Agnes Swift. That’s who.”

“Hank’s granny?” I asked.

“Yep. She babysat, and I don’t know what he paid her, but she stayed at home. She might’ve been the secretary for the Normal Baptist Church or some sort of volunteer. I know she didn’t have a job that required her to be from home much.” Paulette sighed, making her shoulders lower.

“You’re close with Agnes. You should be able to ask her about it.” Dottie’s brow rose as she brought her mug to her lips.

“Here’s what we know.” I got up and started to pace in front of the gals while I read off the clues we’d gathered. “It’s rumored Jay had robbed the bank when he was a teen. It’s a fact his family couldn’t afford to pay their bills, and suddenly they owned the old train station and then lived fine for years.” I left out the fact that it was Abby’s family who had really suffered the most. “Granted, that’s when Jay started his training business, which did bring in money, but enough to buy the farm from the Fawn’s?”

“It was in bankruptcy.” Dottie made a good point. “Things are way cheap around here.”

“We know that Jay, Lee, Brooke, and Brownie hung out with you,” I told Paulette. “I have here that it was rumored Brownie had been Jay’s accomplice for the bank robbery. Where can we find Brownie?”

“He runs the Saddle Club off of Route 42,” Queenie said. “He’s been out there for years.”

“Is that the bar heading south?” I questioned, recalling seeing it a few times.

It was one of those bars one drove past and would never be caught dead in. It was a dark and scary building with one flashing sign in the window with most of the other lights out.

“They have a lot of card games and darts out there,” Dottie said. “What? I like a good game of craps or poker now and then.”

“Of course you do.” I really thought I knew Dottie well, but the more she talked, the more I realized I didn’t.

“You have no idea what I do at night. When I can’t sleep, I know Brownie has a good game going. I probably head out there a couple nights a week.” She smirked. “You think what you pay me pays my bills?”

“What bills do you have?” I asked her and continued to pace. “You don’t have a lot fee. You don’t have water or electricity or trash.” My eyes narrowed. “Seriously?”

“I have to retire sometime. Besides, it’s none of your business. I just told you where you could find him.” She crossed her arms across her chest, giving me the signal it was time to move on to the next bit of information I’d collected.

“We also know there’s a hiker or someone who has been staying in the stables. Jay didn’t like that. Also, we know Jay was going to have to move out of the stable since Coke is going to turn it into a wedding venue.”

I was about to continue, but Coke chirped up, “If you think I killed him.”

She was sending a big warning my way, so I interrupted her. “I’m only stating the facts. Besides, you were at the hoedown the whole time. I saw Jay talking to Lee there, which brings me to Lee.” I flipped the piece of paper of my notebook to read the rest. “Lee has a great business, but he’s never had a winner. The big prize. Even though he might not need the money, and the big prize doesn’t come with money, it is a goal that he’s had all his life. Apparently, Sarah Kaskle is that big ticket. If Jay isn’t around to train her, Lee sure is and has been.” I quickly told them what had happened between me and Lee, giving Coke the stink eye because both of us knew she made me leave the stables when he complained.

“What? Sarah’s parents were uncomfortable that you were in there,” she confessed.

“They were?” My jaw dropped. “I thought it was Lee. He sent you a text.”

“Nope. Sarah’s parents came to see me at my office when you and Lee were having words. I hurried down there knowing you’d been busy looking into Jay’s murder and needed to get you out of there. I have a new business to run, and you two down there fighting isn’t helping business.” She sighed. “Lee had only texted me about Jay’s death being changed to murder.”

“Okay.” I quickly wrote down how Sarah’s parents had complained. “Regardless, the facts are the facts. Lee wants the title, and Sarah is the fastest way to it.”

“He’s definitely a suspect.” Abby nodded. “He was also part of the robbery gang.”

“Robbery gang?” Paulette was good at throwing her hands in the air. “I’m part of the robbery gang, too, then.” She laughed.

“Where were you during the hoedown?” I’d forgotten to ask Paulette. “I was with Dottie when she called you from the Happy Trails office, and you were there in minutes. You were obviously in town.”

“I was, but I didn’t know Jay had been killed.” Her brows furrowed. “I could never hurt Jay. He’s the father of my baby.”

“He also was your ex-husband,” I reminded her, knowing exactly how I felt about my ex-now-dead-husband.

“Mae, no way.” Dottie encouraged me to move on.

“Fine. But you do want the money, and he was killed with a gun that was reported stolen five years ago. You two are the only ones who knew about the gun.” I gestured between them. “The gun that probably killed him.”

Betts, Queenie, and Abby all leaned a little more forward in their seats.

“Oh, come on. You saw the person who broke into my RV and took the gun.” She reached for her cigarette case, snapped it open, and took out a smoke.

“You saw the killer?” Paulette got excited. “This is great!” There was hope in her eyes.

“No. I didn’t see the killer. I mean—” sadness swept across her face, replacing the hope she’d just had in her eyes. “I saw a shadow of someone in there when I knew Dottie had gotten a ride from Henry to the hoedown, but then thought maybe she didn’t go with Henry. That’s why I didn’t have Ty stop.” I gulped when I realized I had mentioned Ty in front of Abby.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Abby ease back into the couch.

“Anyways, whoever stole that gun is our killer.” I felt confident in knowing this bit of information. “Hank says he’s checking into that and the hiker because the same hiker was at the campground the night before the hoedown.”

“He was?” Betts asked. “You never said anything.”

“Hank was there. He chased him off. That puts him at the scene of both crimes. I really want to find him.” I looked at Coke. “Have you seen him since Jay chased him?”

“No.” She shook her head. “But I’ve also been busy with running the motel.” She looked at Paulette. “Where do people like you hang out between towns?”

“People like me?” Paulette laughed. “You mean the free life from stuff and things?”

“You want to live a life free of stuff?” I questioned her. “You came back here to look for the money with Dottie.”

“I said stuff, not money. I have to have money to get places.” Paulette turned back to Coke. “We have a nice little set up at different parks. We don’t live like animals. We do yoga, meditations, eat off the land, and enjoy the peace of life. I’m getting arthritis and eventually will have to move into a home. I need money for that.”

“You can live with Dottie.” Abby joked, but neither Dottie nor Paulette found it funny.

“I was at the Daniel Boone National Park commune the night someone killed Jay.” She looked at Dottie. “Dottie has always been able to get in touch with me. She pays the phone bill for me to have a cell. She lets me know what’s going on in Normal.”

“No wonder you need more money.” I raised my brows at Dottie. “I thought I knew everything about you.”

I wrote down a few things while Paulette continued to plead her case of why she wanted the robbery money, if there was any. I still wasn’t convinced there’d been a robbery. It was probably just an old wives tale like most of the stories around here.

“Then we have your daughter.” I flipped the page to Glenda. “She is a silent partner at the Old Train Station Motel.”

“Not now.” Coke grumbled when everyone shot her looks of shock. “It’s not like I have all the money in the world either. Like Dottie and Paulette, I’ve got to think about my retirement, and this was a great opportunity.”

“Listen, you two might be getting old, but I’m not.” Dottie jumped up and did a couple jazzercise moves, making all of us laugh and breaking the seriousness of the atmosphere. “Go on, Mae. Finish this up.”

“You honestly don’t think Glenda has anything to do with Jay’s death?” I asked Paulette instead of suggesting Paulette killed him. “Glenda has been in town a couple of days, and if she and Jay had a fight, she could’ve done it. I mean, did she know about the gun?”

The look between Dottie and Paulette didn’t go unnoticed. “What?” My eyes shifted between them. “What are you hiding?”

“Glenda did catch us when we were in the stable stealing the gun.” Dottie gnawed on her lip. “But I don’t think she saw we took a gun. She just saw us in the tack cabinet. She was visiting and was going to say goodbye to Rosa.”

“That’s another thing. Rosa was Glenda’s horse, and if she found out Jay had given it to Coke to sweeten his deal…” I looked over at the gasping Paulette.

“He gave you Rosa?” Paulette jumped up. “He had no right to do that! Rosa is Glenda’s! She won several titles with Rosa! You thief!”

Paulette darted out of the Laundry Club, helping me put Glenda right at the top of the list of suspects.

SEVENTEEN

Hank’s family house was a modest farm house. Nothing fancy. A family room with a wood-burning stove, a small kitchen with a round table, a bathroom off the kitchen, and a long hallway with doors along each side, which I assumed led to the bedrooms. Hank’s sister, Ellis, was sitting at the table in the kitchen when we arrived. She had one leg propped up on the seat, leaning over painting her toenails.

Ellis was a little taller than me. She was a model. Her blond hair was pulled up into a ponytail, like she normally wore it. She had on a pair of shorts that showed off a nice tan on her long legs. The tank top was tucked into the shorts, showing off her slim body.

“You two are just in time for homemade pizza.” Hank’s mom rubbed her hands on a tea towel before she hurried over to hug us. “Where’s Chester and Fifi?”

“We left them back at Mae’s.” Hank hugged his mom. The stress I’d seen on his face when we’ve come to visit before had lessened the more we’d come.

Hank and his mom had really been trying to work on the rift between them. Especially since Agnes had called out his parents for taking care of Ellis and leaving him to fend for himself for years.

“How’s beauty school, Ellis?” Hank asked about her new career choice.

After they moved back to Normal full time, his parents had really cut Ellis off. They had spent most of her life following her dream to be a famous actress and model at no cost. Ellis had taken a lot of it for granted and was used to getting anything she wanted.

When they’d first come back to Normal, Ellis thought she could just hook Hank up with Natalie and definitely tried. No matter that Hank and I were dating. It was the first time she’d not gotten her way since she moved back. Now that her parents have put their foot down, they seemed happier and interested in Hank.

“I’m never going to get use to painting someone else’s nails.” Images of Ellis doing someone else’s mani-pedis did make me smile. “Did mom tell you I moved into the trailer?”

“You did?” I blurted out. “I mean…”

“I know what you mean, Mae.” A shadow of annoyance came across her face. “But I’ve fixed it up. Want to see?” She fanned her hand over her painted toes.

“We will after supper. Mae and I are going to hike to the overlook if we’ve got time before the pizza is ready.” Hank looked at me and smiled.

“You two lovebirds.” His mom gushed. “Go on. Be back in twenty minutes. Your dad will be back from picking up Agnes, and the pizza will be ready.”

It was interesting how she referred to her own mother by name instead of calling her mom.

“Gross. You two are gross.” Ellis changed feet and shook the polish.

Hank grabbed my hand and tugged me out of the kitchen door. We were about halfway through the yard and the trail that led to his favorite spot in the entire Daniel Boone National Park before he stopped and looked at me with his piercing green eyes.

“Finally.” He pulled me to him. His heart beat was so loud inside of his chest. His nose was shoved in the crook of my neck. He inhaled. “You smell so good.”

“Are you okay?” I asked and held him just as tight.

“I’ve missed you so much.” He pulled his head away and looked down at me with half closed eyes. “We really need to have some time away. Me and you.” He bent down and kissed me.

“Twenty minutes!” his mom yelled out the open kitchen window.

Both of us laughed and took that as a hint to hurry to the overlook and back.

Hank was like a little boy, jumping over the branches that’d fallen and careful not to step on any blooms left over from the spring. With summer came a whole new crop of Kentucky wildflowers and ferns, making the overlook even more gorgeous than the last time we were here. Hank had made it to the overlook before me. He was already sitting on the big rock formation with his leg dangling over.

“I’ll never get sick of this view.” I gasped at the big canyon with a waterfall that was surrounded by lush Kentucky ferns, moss, and limestone. The flowers and trees were in full bloom. The pops of purples, reds, and whites was nature’s way of painting the beautiful park.

I sat down next to him. We sat in silence for a few minutes.

“I’ll never get sick of this view.” He gazed at me and leaned in, kissing me.

“You’re such a romantic tonight.” The butterflies in my stomach fluttered all over, making me light headed.

“I want you to know that you’ve never got to worry about anything. That’s why you don’t need to snoop, and I’m feeling bad about getting on you earlier,” he said.

“Oh.” The butterflies took a nose dive. “You are trying to make sure I stay in line with what you’d said earlier. That’s what this is about?” I asked and pushed myself up to stand.

“Where are you going?” he asked and looked back at me.

“I’m going back to the house. I don’t need you reminding me that my personality isn’t something you agree with when it comes to your profession.” I stumbled over a branch but found my footing and continued to head to the trail.

“Don’t do this, Mae.” His voice was closer to me, and I didn’t have to turn around to know he was following me. “I went to Deter’s, and I saw you and the ladies in the laundromat. I also saw Paulette Russel run out. I dragged her down to the station for questioning, and she told me all your little theories. It’s gossip.” He put a hand on my shoulder.

“Gossip?” I shrugged his hand off of me. I jerked around. “Gossip leads to facts and evidence which leads to a killer.”

“According to her, you’ve accused anyone who even associated with Jay.” He reached out for me. “The bank robbery wasn’t done by Jay. You’re on the wrong trail, Mae. That’s why you need to stop.”

I put my hands up in front of me. “I’ve never been anything other than me since the day you pulled me out of the pond.” I reminded him of how we met. “If you can’t get past who I really am, then this isn’t working.” I gestured between us. Quickly, I turned back and hurried down the trail toward the house.

“Mae, I’m not trying to change you. I love that about you. That gives us the fire,” he said about halfway down the trail. “But I can’t let you get hurt. This is what we go over time and time again. You sticking your nose in the wrong place and getting hurt.”

“It’s my nose to stick into things!” I screamed and made the clearing of the trees.

In the distance, Agnes was getting out of the car. She looked across the yard and smiled. It faltered when I didn’t return it. I watched her say something to Hank’s dad, and he headed into the house without her.

“Don’t drag Granny into this,” Hank warned me like he was scolding me. “This is between me and you.”

“We need a voice of reason.” I knew Agnes would be on my side like always. “Agnes, can you please clear something up for us?”

“Hi, honey.” She gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Are you two fighting over Jay Russel?”

“Yes. In fact, I understand that you took care of Glenda Russel when her parents went on a fancy European vacation.” I felt Hank’s body stop behind me. She nodded. “Could they afford such a big vacation?”

“No. And I was shocked they even went. I even told them not to pay me, but he insisted, saying he’d saved up.” She shrugged. “Gave me five thousand dollars. Who had five thousand dollars back then to giveaway?” She wagged a finger at Hank. “He never let me forget it either.”

“What do you mean?” Hank suddenly took an interest.

“After I started to work at the sheriff’s department as dispatcher, he would make calls about claims on the land. If I didn’t get a deputy out there or he didn’t like what the deputy had to say, he’d remind me how he’d given me five thousand dollars to help me out during a rough patch in my life. Five thousand dollars was a lot of money to me and your mom back then.”

“That sonofa…” Hank’s words connected together. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“After he got up in years, I just started to ignore him. He was in a pickle after Paulette had left him, and I did like Glenda. She was a baby, and your mom was getting married. Sometimes you just have to shrug off things.” She rubbed her hand down my arm. “If you’re wanting to know if he robbed the bank, I can’t say, but it’s rumored.”

“I know. And Hank is refusing to believe there’s money somewhere in the stables. Especially since there was a hiker in there who was probably the one who was in the campground that night before and it could be possible that he stole Jay’s gun from Dottie.”

“Stole Jay’s gun?” Hank asked in a stern voice. “What are you talking about? Are you saying the gun Dottie reported stolen is the gun we are looking for that we believe killed Jay?” He asked with an intense interest.

“Oh dear.” Agnes’s lines around her lips deepened when her lips flattened in a straight line. “It appears Mae knows a lot more than you care to believe.” Now she patted Hank. “It looks like you two need to talk.”

“Yeah.” He sucked in a deep breath. “Tell Mom I’m sorry, but we had to go.”

I stood there with my mouth gaped open, wishing I could take back what I’d said. My mouth always got me in trouble.

EIGHTEEN

The ride back to the campground was longer than normal. It was the silence that made it so. And when he dropped me off at the camper and grabbed Chester, I knew he was mad. Not the fact that I had my nose stuck in it, but the fact I’d left out the information about Dottie and Paulette stealing the gun five years ago. It wasn’t like I didn’t see his side and how it impacted the investigation, but I was also loyal to my friend. Dottie. Not Paulette.

My heart nearly stopped when I watched him from the window over top my sink. He drove away from his rented camper after he put Chester in there, and stopped in front of Dottie’s camper, the brake lights glaring. I knew Hank, and he was going to haul her in for questioning. He got lucky and took in a two for one deal. Dottie and Paulette got into his car.

A shadow walking in front of my camper did make my heart stop. I screamed so loud, Fifi screeched and ran to the bedroom. I fell to the ground so the shadow couldn’t see me and crawled over to where I kept my gun. If the hiker was back and had heard I was spreading rumors that he was the one who killed Jay, I had to protect myself.

“Mae.” I heard a whisper from outside. “Let me in.”

I crawled to the door and put my ear to it.

“Mae.” I heard the voice again. “It’s me, Abby. Let me in.”

I stood up and sucked in a deep breath to gather my wits before I opened the door.

“Hurry up.” She pushed the door open all the way and hurried inside. “Shut the door.”

“What’s going on?” I asked and looked out the door into the night before I closed the door.

“Ty. He’s got a date in his camper.” Abby chuckled nastily. “I’m going crazy.” She huffed and rubbed her hands together. “I’m following him. I’m obsessed.”

My head wasn’t wrapping around what she was saying. The images of Dottie getting into Hank’s car made me ill and just took up any space left in my head.

“Mae,” Abby stressed. “Did you hear what I said?”

“Yeah. Ty? Date?” I blinked a few times to make myself be present and grabbed a bottle of water from my mini-refrigerator.

“Yes. But I’m losing my mind. I’ve become some sort of girl on one of those crazy tabloid TV shows.” She took the water from me and plopped down in one of the chairs at the small café table. “I even called that show Cheaters, only he’s not cheating. I just want him to know that I know.”

“Abby, get a hold of yourself.” I sat in the chair across from her. “Start from the beginning so I can understand.”

“It all started a couple of weeks ago.” She pulled a foot up under her. “He told me how I was nice, but he didn’t feel a connection with me. I asked him if it was because I wasn’t as wild as you.”

“Wild?” I jerked back, my jaw dropped. Fifi made her way back into the family part of the camper and lay in her bed. “You think I’m wild?”

“I think that you’ve gotten so much more experience in life, and you take every idea you get and run with it. Me.” She frowned. “I’m a boring person. I love to read. I’d rather spend time at my office instead of having parties like you. Going around and talking to people. I’m just not as outgoing.”

“Then he’s got the problem. Not you.” I reached across the table and patted her hand. “If he can’t see what an amazing person you are, then he’s got issues.”

“He told me it wasn’t my personality. He said that he wasn’t ready to commit to a relationship and needed to spend his time making sure his dad had recovered and that his brothers are taken care of. He was really nice, and I cried.” She shook her head. “I believed him. Until.”

“Until what?” I asked.

“Until I saw him with a woman through the diner window when we left the Laundry Club. I sat in the Laundry Club and watched them for a couple of hours. They were laughing, and she was touching him.” Abby stuck her tongue out. “It was gross.”

“Do you know who she is?” I asked and wondered why Abby didn’t know the woman.

“No. She could be from here, but Ty is older than me.” Abby reminded me how Ty and I were heading straight into our thirties while she was still in her mid-twenties.

She jumped up, making Fifi dart back to the bedroom. Poor little girl. Abby was giving her a heart attack. “It’s them!” She pushed open the door and grabbed my purse. “Come on!”

“What?” I was so confused.

“They just left in Ty’s car. We are going to follow them.” She didn’t even wait for me to protest. She ran to her car with my crossbody bag, which she knew I never left home without. It was her sneaky way to get me in her car.

“You be a good girl, Fifi.” I glanced at the water bowl to make sure she had water and locked the camper behind me.

Abby had the car started and in gear before I sat in the passenger seat. She floored the gas as I grabbed for the seat belt. I hung on for dear life.

“This is not normal. This is how someone crazy acts.” I informed her. “You need to slow down before you kill us or someone in the campground.”

The words barely left my mouth when she took a sharp right out of the campground. Ty’s taillights would come in and out of sight as his car followed the curves.

“Abby.” I called her name a couple of times to get her to come back out of crazy land. “Abby.”

“I know. I look nuts.” She didn’t seem to really hear herself because she sped up. “I just want to know where they’re going. If he was such a good guy taking care of his dad and brothers, he should be at home taking care of them.”

My phone chirped a text.

“Don’t tell Hank.” Abby assumed it was Hank, and for a second, I thought it might be.

“It’s Queenie.” I ran my finger across my phone to bring up her text. “She wants to know what’s going on with Dottie.”

“Dottie?” Abby at least stopped her madness in her head to ask about our friend. She didn’t slow down, though.

“You’re not the only one with big problems.” I hit the call button. It was better for me to say it once to everyone then keep repeating how I’d betrayed our friend. “I’m going to conference call our friends in.”

I wasn’t sure if Abby heard me because she had turned into the parking lot of the Saddle Club, the bar that Dottie mentioned earlier. She parked where there weren’t any lights. She reached under the seat and pulled out a pair of binoculars. Ty had pulled up to the front. He got out and went around the car to open the door.

“It’s Glenda.” I gasped and squinted to make sure.

“What?” Queenie asked from the phone.

“Where’s Glenda?” Betts questioned.

“Glenda Russel? The killer?” Abby leaned over the steering wheel with the binoculars up to her eyes.

“What is going on? Why is Dottie at the police station?” Queenie asked.

“Dottie is at the police station?” Betts sounded so confused. “Where is Glenda? At the police station?”

“Everyone stop talking.” I had to stop all the madness. “I’m at Saddle Club with Abby. She’s been spying on Ty. Ty is apparently on a date with Glenda.”

“What does this have to do with Dottie?” Queenie asked. “I heard on the police scanner that she was being taken to the station along with Paulette Russel.”

“That’s why I’m calling. I accidently let it slip to Hank how Dottie and Paulette took Jay’s gun he had reported stolen five years ago.” It hurt saying the words.

“Mae,” Queenie whined, “you didn’t.”

“She did.” Betts snapped. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“I know. I feel awful. We didn’t even stay for homemade pizza at his parents because he said he had to bring them in. It was awful.” I couldn’t get the image of Dottie getting into Hank’s car. “She’s innocent and has the hoedown as the alibi, so she’ll be fine. I just don’t want him to bring charges against her from five years ago.”

“Do we need to go get her?” Queenie asked a great question.

“I can go to the Laundry Club and put on some coffee,” Betts suggested.

“I think you two need to go get Dottie and bring her to the bar. We need drinks.” Abby turned off the ignition of the car.

“You want us to go in there?” I asked her, knowing she’d lost her marbles. “No way.”

“It’s a free country.” Abby’s attitude was really starting to annoy me.

“Abby, nothing good can come out of this. I know. I’ve been here,” I said. “He’s not worth it.”

“Listen to her, Abby,” Betts said through the speaker on the phone.

Headlights from another car pulled in and parked in a spot underneath one of the pole lights. Lee and another person who looked a lot like Sarah Kaskle’s dad got out of the car.

“On second thought.” I put the phone up to my mouth and spoke clearly. “Go get Dottie and bring her to the Saddle Club. We need a girls’ night out.”

Abby looked at me with wide eyes and a huge grin on her face.

“Thank you,” she mouthed to me.

I gave her a sympathetic smile. I couldn’t tell her why I was really going in there.

“Mae, this is not a good idea.” Betts tried to be the voice of reason.

“Sounds good to me.” Queenie wasted no time. She hung up the phone.

“See you soon, Betts,” Abby said into the phone, leaning over into my space.

I clicked the off button and grabbed my crossbody bag, flinging it across my shoulder.

“Here are the ground rules.” I was going to go over some particulars with Abby, but she’d already gotten out of the car and was halfway to the front door of the bar. “I guess there are none,” I mumbled, picking up the pace a little.

The inside of the building was as smoky as Dottie’s camper. Old tunes were belting out of a jukebox that had seen much better days. There was a full bar along the right side of the building and the left was open with bar top tables. In the far back left were a couple of poker tables with no empty seats. Behind that was a lane for darts.

It was loud, rowdy, and smoky, making it difficult for me to see where Lee had gone.

“Mae!” Abby waved above the crowd and pointed to a couple of bar stools.

I weaved in and around people to get to her. She was leaning over the bar talking to the bartender. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but I watched her gesture between me and her and then over to the far end of the bar.

I moved my gaze to where her finger was pointing and noticed Ty and Glenda talking intently.

“I got them a drink.” Abby had a look of pleasure on her face and eased down into the bar stool. “I got us one too.”

Her car keys were sitting on top of the bar counter. I took them and slipped them into my bag.

“I’m fine.” I waved my hand. I wasn’t much of a big drinker, and I wasn’t going to drink if she was going to. I had to get home somehow. It looked like I was the driver. “Do you really think it was a good idea to send them a drink?”

“He wants fun. I can be fun.” She took money out of her pocket and laid it on the bar when the barista dropped off the drinks she’d ordered. “Watch this.” She picked up her drink and nodded toward Ty and Glenda.

Ty’s eyes glanced past the bartender’s shoulder after Abby was pointed out as the one who’d paid for the drinks. Abby planted a big smile on her face and proudly held up her drink like she was toasting them. Ty’s face showed shocked. He didn’t seem like he knew what to do.

“Look at that guilty face. Jerk,” Abby said through gritted teeth, her mouth staying in a permanent grin.

“You look crazy.” I waved down the bar at Ty. Nervously, he waved back and so did Glenda. “I hope that was the reaction you wanted.”

Abby sat down in the bar stool. “It wasn’t that fun.” She took a drink and stared straight ahead. “Let’s face it. I’m not fun.”

“Stop it. You are fun.” I rotated the stool to face out and scan the crowd.

Lee had sat down at one of the poker tables. He was gabbing away and didn’t seem to have a care in the world. It was odd that he didn’t appear to mourn his best friend, which made him guilty in my eyes.

“I’ll be right back.” I got off the stool and made my way over to him.

I stood for a second and watched the dealer go around the table, asking if anyone wanted a hit on their cards before I tapped Lee on the shoulder.

“Mae.” He stood up. “I had no idea you came around joints like this.”

“I don’t. I’m here with my friends, and I thought I’d come over and say hi.” I wanted to make him so uncomfortable. “Or do you know the bar owner and want them to kick me out like you had Coke kick me out of the stables?”

He lowered his eyes and tossed his hand of cards on the table.

“Fellers, I’m out this hand. Don’t let anyone take my spot.” He got up and grabbed me by the elbow, dragging me over to a dark corner away from prying eyes. “Listen, I don’t know what your problem is with me, but I’m telling you to back off.”

“Is the heat getting to you?” I asked and didn’t turn away from his glare. He wasn’t going to bully me.

“Heat?” An evil laugh came from deep in his gut. He threw his head back. “You? Heat?”

“You had the biggest reason to kill Jay, and I’m going to prove it.” I jerked my arm away from him.

“Geesh, are you kidding me? I’ve already been questioned by the police. I’ve got an alibi. I had no reason to kill my best friend.” He crossed his arms in front of him.

“Maybe for the title that Sarah Kaskle is going to win under your name as trainer. Or should I ask her dad about that.” I moved my gaze from him to the poker table. “That is her dad, right?”

“I want you to listen to me and listen to me good.” He uncrossed his arms and jabbed his finger in my face. “After Jay died, the Kaskles came to me. I don’t care about titles. Would it be nice? Yes, of course. I’d love to retire from my life’s-long work with a big win, but it’s not that important to me.”

“Did you kill him because you were the real robber from the bank robbery years ago, and he was going to come clean? You and your friends, Brownie and—” I had no idea where that came from.

He stood there. His mouth opened and shut and opened again. He clamped it closed, at a loss for words.  “What is it with you people?” His chest heaved up and down as a big belly laugh started to come out of him. “Jay didn’t rob a bank. I didn’t rob a bank.” He leaned over me and yelled, “Brownie, she thinks we all robbed the bank.”

The group of men at the table started to laugh and smack each other on the arm like it was such a big joke.

“You think I’m kidding?” I could feel my face flushing. “I’m not.”

“You’re the second person to ask me and my friends about that darn bank robbery over the past week. It’s a joke. We might’ve gotten into a lot of trouble as kids, but we didn’t rob a bank. Especially Jay. He was the most honest out of all of us.” He took a step forward, and I moved out of his way.

“Stop.” I grabbed a fistful of the back of his shirt.

He slowly turned around. I watched as his expression changed from an intense stare to a hard glare.

“Let go of my shirt,” he warned and pulled his shoulders back. He reached around and tried to run a flat hand over the back of the shirt where I’d gripped. “Don’t put your hands on me.”

“You put your hands on me,” I recalled and pointed to my elbow. “That’s not why I stopped you. You said someone else asked about the robbery. Who?”

“Some kid. A camper. He comes in here and drinks.” He looked around the bar. “He’s here somewhere.”

“Where?” I asked and let out a long sigh when I noticed Lee was fed up with me. “Listen, I’m just trying to find out what happened to Jay.”

“Leave it up to your boyfriend.” He was playing hardball.

“If one of your friends was down at the station right now for killing Jay, and you knew she didn’t do it, you’d be all over trying to figure out who did it.” I wasn’t telling the complete truth, but I had to make him feel human or some sort of heartfelt connection to me. “Dottie Swaggert is down at the station. You know Dottie. She didn’t hurt anyone.”

“Dottie, huh?” His eyes darted back and forth like he was trying to find an answer up in his head somewhere. “The kid is next to the jukebox. He’s been asking a lot of questions about the money. We keep telling him tall tales. Messing with him. Maybe it wasn’t smart to do.”

“Did you mention Jay?” I wondered if this was the hiker who Jay had kept running off.

“Jay was here and really laid on this big story about how he had a map in his stable. Like an X marks the spot pirates map.” His brows drew downward in a frown. “Come to think about it, that was the night before Jay was killed. You don’t think?”

“Good possibility.” I groaned.

“I’ll get my hands on that little—”

I grabbed another fistful of Lee’s shirt when he took a bold step in the direction of the jukebox.

“Don’t go over there and start anything,” I warned. “You go back with your friends and keep an eye on me. I’m going to go over and ask him a few questions.”

“If I see him do any funny business, I’m going to clobber him,” Lee said. He pressed his lips together in anger. “After your done with him, it’s my turn.”

I put my hands out in front of me to make sure he calmed down. I was surprised he actually went back to the table like I’d suggested. The other poker players at his table leaned in to listen to what he was telling them. They all turned and looked at me. I smiled and headed over to the jukebox where the guy was leaning up against it.

The hiker had a backpack, but I couldn’t tell if it was the same backpack. But the eye. I noticed a little scab on the corner of his eye that appeared to be pretty fresh looking.

“Bad cut,” I said to him and then turned back to the jukebox to pretend to look at the selection of songs.

“It’s fine.” He didn’t look back at me.

The door opened. Dottie, Queenie, and Paulette walked in. They all three looked at me. I tried to avoid eye contact.

“Did you get it from a hanging branch when you were hiking?” I asked.

“Nope.” He pressed a longneck bottle of beer to his lips. “Listen, lady, I’m just here to enjoy a beer. I’m not looking for company.”

“I’m not looking for company either. I was just making idle conversation, that’s all,” I said.

“Mae West,” Dottie said my name with a cigarette stuck in the corner of her mouth. The hiker pulled a lighter out of his pocket, flicking it to life. “Thanks, hun,” she told him.

“Ryan? Is that you?” Paulette stood behind Dottie and questioned the kid.

“Crap!” He shoved Dottie into me and Paulette. He dropped his bottle on the floor before he bolted out the door.

Scuffles and yells came from the back of the bar.

“Are you okay?” I asked Dottie, trying to help her to her feet. Both of us tumbled back to the ground when Lee and his goons ran past us, knocking everyone out of the way.

“What in tarnation is happening around here?” Dottie looked at me. The cigarette dangling from her mouth was broken. She took it out of her mouth, looked at it, and tossed it to the ground.

“I’m not sure. But I have an idea.” I stood up and helped her and Paulette up. “Paulette, how did you know that guy?”

“That’s Ryan Dunn. He is like me. Trying to figure out life.” She made no sense.

“How do you know him?” I asked her again. “That’s the guy I saw Jay running off, and I think he’s the guy Hank ran off at the campground.”

“Oh no. He was around when I was talking to my group of friends about the bank robbery.” Paulette had just tied Ryan to Jay’s murder. “He must’ve wanted to come and find it for himself.”

“Did you tell him about the gun?” I asked.

“I might’ve added to the story how me and Dottie stole it.” She curled in her lip and bit down on it.

“Lee told me he’d been asking around about the bank robbery and how Jay had told Ryan a big tale about how he had a treasure map in the stables and was going to dig it up one day.” All of the clues were coming together like a big puzzle.

“Do you think he’s the one who stole my gun?” Dottie asked a great question.

“Dottie!” I grabbed her and kissed her on the cheek. “You are so smart!”

“What is happening here?” Betts walked in. “I drive up and men are chasing someone. You and Dottie are kissing and Abby is all chummy with Ty and Glenda.”

“I think Dottie just helped me figure out who killed Jay Russel.” I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Hank. “Hank, you better get over to the Saddle Club. I think Jay’s killer was here.”

Hank and his men were there in no time. I told Hank my theory about how Ryan had come to Normal because Paulette told her hippie friends about how she believed Jay was the robber. When Ryan came to town, they’d told him this big story about how Jay was the robber. That was when he had gone to the stables, and Jay had found him there. Then he must’ve followed Paulette to the campground to find the gun. While Dottie was at the hoedown, he had broken in. He must’ve been who I’d seen in her camper.

Satisfied with my theory, he put out an APB and shut down the roads, giving a character sketch and details of Ryan Dunn.

“Glenda used to babysit Ty when he was little. Can you believe she’s that old?” Abby was happy Ty was dating Glenda.

“I knew she was older since her parents are Dottie’s age, but I didn’t try and figure it up.” I drove us back to the campground even though Abby was fine to drive. She’d had one drink and though she wasn’t impaired, I felt it was best.

“Then you solved the big murder.” Abby’s brows rose.

“Mmmhhh.” I didn’t want to lecture her on how awful her behavior had been, and it was getting late.

“And you didn’t want to go to the bar because you said nothing good could come from it.” She laughed and put the back of her head on the head rest.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep before I pulled into Happy Trails.

NINETEEN

“You deserve a day off.” Dottie was sitting behind her desk in the office the next morning around seven a.m. “I’ll be fine. Paulette and Glenda are going to have lunch at the Caboose Diner before she goes back to her hippie friends.”

“They are eating together?” I asked.

“Yep. Seems like they came together last night after you solved the murder. According to the police Facebook page, they still ain’t caught Ryan.” Dottie was tugging each pink sponge curler out of her hair. “They will.”

“I hope so.” I looked out the window of the office at the gorgeous day shaping up outside. “I’ve got to make it into town to get some of the items for the campground party. Do you need anything?”

“Nah. Which reminds me”—she shook out the curls with her fingers—“Did they ever catch the robber of Deter’s Feed-N-Seed and Cookie Crumble?”

“I have no idea. After Jay’s murder, it seemed like it was on the back burner.” It was a great day to go hiking before everyone was up and at ‘em, making the trails busy. “If you’re sure you’re going to be alright here by yourself, I think I’ll get in a hike and then go get the items for the party.”

There were things I needed to pick up. The donated food items along with finalizing the menu with Ty on what he was bringing to cater. But I needed to de-stress, and since moving to Normal and living in the campground, I found walking one of the easy trails was so good for my soul.

“Go on. Get out of here.” She lifted her chin in the direction of the door.

She didn’t have to tell me twice to leave the office and get on my hiking boots and Fifi.

There were several trails around the campground that ranged in level of difficulty. Since I had Fifi and Chester with me, it was best to go on an easy trail. I knew Hank was going to be busy all day. Chester didn’t need to be cooped up.

The path was worn down and the rain from the other night had dried off. Fifi loved getting all her white fur dirty and cleaning her wasn’t relaxing to me. Chester, he was just easy. He trotted along side of me while Fifi darted ahead, sniffing everything she passed. Chester was only ever interested in food.

Sunrise was peeking over the Daniel Boone National Park in hues of orange and pink, making the blue sky pop. There was a light breeze in the shadows of the trees with a nice chill that filled my lungs with fresh air at each breath. I stopped, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. There was nothing as refreshing as good country air.

I opened my eyes and looked down to see what Chester was doing. “Chester?” I twisted around and looked for him. “Fifi! Chester!”

When I heard the rattle of Fifi’s collar, I turned my head in that direction. “Are you off the trail?” I stomped over to the tree line and could hear Fifi’s collar. I pushed the dangling tree limbs and brush out of my way with each step I took toward them. I kept my eyes down and made sure I took careful steps. Off the trail was rocky and not as smooth. I didn’t want to twist an ankle out here by myself. “You two are in trouble.”

I looked up, and in the trees was a hammock, along with a campground site.

“Fifi, Chester,” I scolded them with a whisper in fear we were going to wake up the campers. “Get over here.”

Fifi was not moving. She stood near the smoldering fire.

“What are you doing?” I tiptoed over and noticed napkins that had the Cookie Crumble logo on them wadded up in the fire. Chester came back to my side.

My gut twisted. Panic started to riot within me as I looked around and noticed all the things that’d been stolen from Deter’s was right here in front of me. Then my mind shifted to Ryan Dunn. Was this his hideout? Was he the one who’d broken into the shops so he could live out here while he hunted for the money?

“Fifi,” I called after her when she still didn’t come. It was apparent that I was going to have to sneak over there and pick her up. “Stay,” I whispered to Chester. He sat down like a good boy.

Fifi was determined to keep her stance, and I was curious to see what had her attention.

“Ryan?” I gasped. The twist in my gut moved to a cold knot in my stomach.

Ryan Dunn was lying on his side on the ground.

“Ryan?” I tapped his shoe with my shoe. I touched him just enough for him to roll over to his back, a gun in his hand and a gunshot to his chest. There was a journal in his hand.

I bent down and noticed the journal was embossed with Jay Russel’s name, just like the journals I’d found in the tack cabinet. A shuffle of noise came from the behind me. Chester started barking, and I jumped around, fumbling for my phone in my back pocket. Two big eyes stared at me from behind the tree.

“Rosa?” I gasped when I saw Jay’s horse tied up to the tree. “Hank,” I gasped into the phone. “Ryan Dunn is dead. I think he used Jay’s gun, and he had Rosa.”

TWENTY

The news of what happened in Normal had spread, and the national news media had picked it up. I always thought bad publicity was bad, but Abby Fawn always claimed it was good. She was right. The campground didn’t have a vacancy and The Milkery Bed and Breakfast was also booked, which made me sad because I’d not see Mary Elizabeth and Dawn Gentry since all this mess with Jay Russel.

Even Glenda and Paulette had stayed around a few more days getting reacquainted. Hank had put the case of Jay Russel in the books even though he still couldn’t explain how Jay had gotten in between the two electric fence wires instead of falling on top of them. The coroner’s report came back that he’d been shot and then fell into the electric fence, which ultimately killed him.

Glenda had decided to leave Rosa with Coke, but she still remained her not-so-silent partner. As a going away gift, Glenda had invited me and the Laundry Club gals to the Caboose Diner for a little get-together before she left town. Unfortunately, Paulette had left town and couldn’t stay for the lunch.

The Old Train Station’s diner was packed, and it looked like Coke had really gotten a good business going. She looked happy and relaxed. Especially now that Jay’s murder had been put behind us.

“You thought me and Ty?” Glenda got a kick out of Abby’s story. “He’s a sweet boy, but he’s definitely not the marrying type.” She told Abby some details about Ty that put Abby to rest about dating Ty.

Dottie, Betts, and Queenie were having pie and some coffee while talking to Coke about the renovations she was going to do with the stables. She was excited to have her first wedding event booked.

I sat by the window and looked out, wondering if Rosa was down at the stables.

“Where are you going?” Dottie asked when I got up.

“I’m going to walk down to the stables and see Rosa.” I pushed my chair in.

“I thought you were scared of horses.” Dottie was so good at reminding me of the things I told her.

“Me and Rosa have a bond.” I winked, knowing good and well that I wasn’t going to get too close to her.

The freshly cut grass smell surrounded me as I walked past the barn where the hoedown had been hosted. I couldn’t stop myself from glancing past it and looking toward the fence where I’d found Jay. I wondered what he’d have thought about his daughter and ex-wife making amends and that it was his death that’d brought them together.

I gripped the sliding barn door and gave it a good tug, just opening up the one side.

All the other horses were gone. When I passed by the empty stalls, I could see they’d been cleaned. There was a barrel and rake outside of each stall.

Rosa stuck her head out from the bars of her stall at the end of the stable. I stared at her big brown eyes the entire walk down the middle aisle.

“Hey, girl.” I extended my hand for her to sniff.

“Mae, you scared me.” Paulette was standing in Rosa’s stall in the corner. “I was just saying goodbye to the old girl.”

“Paulette, I thought you’d left.” My eyes gazed past her shoulder to the tack cabinet. It’d been flipped on its side. “You should come join us.”

A chill black silence surrounded us. I knew something was going on, and I had to get out of there. Suddenly, my chest felt heavy like my breath had been cut off when I watched Paulette bring her arm up in front of her with a gun pointing directly at me.

“You just couldn’t stop yourself. You had to keep on and on until it came to this.” Paulette slid the stall door open with her foot, keeping the gun on me at all times. “Untie Rosa so I can slide the door open more and let you join me.”

Even though I wanted to tell her what I thought about her, the gun was what was driving me to do what she said. My hands shook as I untied the knocked leather reins from the bar of the stall door. Rosa took a step back.

“Whoa, girl.” Paulette was able to keep the gun steady with one hand while soothing Rosa with the other. “Our little friend really needs a lesson. And I’m not talking a riding lesson.”

She waved the gun in front of me to move me to the back of the stall. I stepped over the piece of board she’d pried off the bottom of the tack cabinet. I rubbed my finger and remembered getting pricked by something when I’d moved it myself the other day. There was a duffle bag on the floor of the stable with cash in it.

“You had it almost right.” She kicked the bag with the toe of her hippie sandal. “Jay didn’t rob the bank. I did. He forced me to marry him, or he was going to turn me in. He didn’t care about the money. He only wanted a child so he could teach them to ride and carry on his legacy of greatness, he’d say.” She rolled her eyes.

“No wonder you didn’t answer the questions at the Laundry Club when I asked you if you robbed the bank. Dottie told me no way and to move on.” It was the little details that’d gotten me off my trail, and here I was about to pay big time for that.

“It was so easy for me to leave town. But before I left, I hid the money underneath the tack cabinet and nailed a board over it. I knew he’d never move this old thing.” She shrugged with a slight grin. “I was right.”

I gulped.

“What? You regret putting your nose into it? Don’t.” She winked. “We all have a way to die, and I believe this is your way. Just like Ryan. He was so stupid. I told him exactly where Alvin Deters kept all the stuff we needed, down to the freeze-dried food. But Ryan had to have donuts.” She laughed. “He was so eager to get his hands on the money after I told him about the robbery. I had no idea Jay was going to tease him, but it played perfect.”

“You killed him?” I asked.

“Jay? Ryan? Yes. Both.” She moved to the right when Rosa took a step back. “Easy girl.” She patted her with the free hand. “Ryan and I had come to town. I had him do all the dirty work like breaking in the shop while I found our perfect camping spot near Dottie so I could get that gun. I’d already heard about the hoedown, so I had Ryan break in and get it.”

“Did Dottie know about the money?” I asked.

“Not that I’d stolen it, but like she said, I made her believe all these years that Jay had dropped hints.” She waved the gun. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. I guess I just want to tell someone how genius I am, and since you aren’t going any further than this…” she paused, “I figure you can take it to your grave. As for Jay. He didn’t know I was back in town. It was going to be fine. I was going to get the gun from Ryan. Jay was going to the hoedown. The stupid storm.” She shook her head. “I should’ve remembered Rosa was scared of thunder and knew he’d come back in here to check on her. That’s when he found me.”

Paulette continued to tell her story as my mind tried to think of a million ways to get out of the stall.

“We had an argument. I had the gun and ran out of the stable, knowing he’d run after me.” She took her eyes off me for a second, and when I started to shift, she jabbed the gun back out in front of her. “It was pouring down rain. I’d forgotten about that stupid electric fence. I stopped, and he laughed at me. That’s when I pulled the gun out, and suddenly we changed positions. He was standing next to the fence. He was scared. In that instance, I knew he had no control over me, and I was free to get my money, leave town for good.” Her eyes narrowed. “He took a step toward me, and I shot him. He wasn’t dead but close.”

“How did he get between the electric fence wires?” I just had to know.

She smiled. “Ryan. He was in the stable. He’d brought me the gun, and that’s where we were meeting. He picked up Jay’s upper half, and I picked up his feet. We tossed him in the fence.” She shuddered like she had a memory of it.

“Why kill Ryan?” I understood about Jay.

“He had come to the stable to look for the money the day before. I didn’t exactly tell him where it was since I didn’t know if he would try to come without me. I was right. It was perfect, though.” An evil grin slipped across her lips. “Jay caught him, immediately making him a suspect. I never figured Ryan would leave our little camp and go around asking questions.” Her face stilled and grew serious. “That’s when I knew I had to go back to camp after you recognized him, and well, you know how that ended.”

Rosa took another step back, rearing up on her back legs, making Paulette stumble enough for me to dart out of the stall.

“Get back here, or I’ll shoot!” Paulette screamed at my back when I took off running down the middle aisle toward the door.

“No, you won’t!” There was another scream, a thud, and another yell that made me stop and turn around.

Dottie Swaggert was standing with a cigarette dangling between her fingers and a shovel in the other hand with a knocked-out Paulette Russel on the ground.

“She ain’t gonna hurt no one anymore.” Dottie put her cigarette in the corner of her mouth and stared at me. She put the shovel down and reached around to her back pocket.

“Dottie, please don’t.” I put my hands out, thinking she was going to pull a gun on me. “Don’t kill me.”

“Huh? Kill you?” Her lip curled. She took out her cell phone.

“Yeah. You knew about the money.” I gulped. My insides were shaking like a leaf. “Did you come here to help her get the money?”

“I didn’t know if Jay stole the money or not.” She didn’t know. “I was coming to check on you. You being scared of horses and all.”

“You didn’t know that Paulette had been the bank robber this whole time and hid the money in Rosa’s stable?” I was stunned.

“I had no idea.” She swiped her finger on her phone screen and brought it up to her ear. “Hank, it’s Dottie Swaggert. You gonna need to come down to the Old Train Station stables and pick up Paulette Russel for killing Jay Russel and Ryan Dunn. She’s also the bank robber.”

I leaned my back against one of the stall doors and slid to the ground. I buried my head in my hands and cried as relief poured out of me.

“I’ll explain when you get here.” I heard her tell Hank before she hung up. “Mae, you gonna be alright?”

“Yes.” I looked up and smiled. “I’m going to be just fine as long as I’ve got you by my side.”

“Don’t you worry. Hank will be right here.” She looked down at Paulette who was still knocked out. “He’ll haul her sorry you-know-what off to jail, and we can get back to our lunch.”

Dottie Swaggert and I were the unlikeliest of best friends. No matter what happened to my real blood family, I have come to know that family wasn’t always blood related, and Dottie Swaggert was my real sister.

RECIPES AND CLEANING HACKS FROM MAE WEST AND THE WOMEN OF

NORMAL, KENTUCKY and HAPPY TRAILS CAMPGROUND

Campfire Baked Apple Dessert

Ingredients

Apples

Oatmeal cookies

Granola

Granola bars

Cinnamon

Sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut the core out of an apple through the stem end, leaving the base intact.

2. Fill the cavity with granola or crumbled oatmeal cookies or granola bars.

3. Sprinkle with cinnamon and wrap well in two layers of foil.

4. Tuck into the embers and turn occasionally for about 10 minutes; when the package is cool enough to handle, unwrap and eat – preferably warm, with ice cream.

Campfire Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

Can of cinnamon Rolls

Stick

Campfire

Directions
1.  Twist the dough around the top of your stick.

2.  Pinch the ends to prevent the cinnamon treat from falling off the stick during roasting.

3.  Roast over a fire, just like you would a marshmallow. Hot coals are best---not a flaming fire. You'll have to be patient, because they don't cook up as fast as a marshmallow. So, keep watching it until the outside is golden & the inside is cooked.

4.  When it's done & looking' tasty, slide the cinnamon roll off the stick.

5. Cover with the frosting.

Enjoy

Coconut Curry Soup

INGREDIENTS

30 grams coconut cream powder (1/2 a packet)

1-2 cubes vegetable bouillon

1 teaspoon curry powder

Pinch of cayenne

A handful of rice noodles

A handful of dehydrated veggies

2 cups water

Directions

1. At home, combine coconut cream powder, bouillon, curry powder and cayenne in a small zip top bag.

2. In another bag, portion out your noodles and dehydrated veggies.

3. At camp, boil the noodles and dehydrated veggies in the water.

4. Once the veggies are re-hydrated and the noodles are tender, stir in the coconut cream mixture.

RV Essential Checklist

Outdoor Camping

- Tent
- Sleeping bags
- Camping chair
- Picnic blanket
- Beach towel
- Hammock
- Cooler
- Flashlight/headlamps
- Citronella candles
- Insect repellent
- Firewood
- Compass
- Water bottles

First Aid

- Vitamins
- Prescriptions
- Pain Relievers
- Antacid
- Imodium
- Allergy medication
- Antibiotic ointment
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Band-Aids
- Gauze
- Scissors
- Thermometer

Hobbies & Entertainment

- Fishing gear
- Hiking gear
- Bicycles/ helmets
- Binoculars
- Camera
- Board games & puzzles
- Playing cards
- Frisbee

Clothing Items

- Bathing suit
- Hats
- Rain jacket
- Umbrella
- Sunglasses
- Hiking boots

Read on for a sneak peek at the Tonya Kappes’s

Bestselling Killer Coffee Mystery Series

SCENE OF THE GRIND

Now available!

Welcome to Honey Springs, Kentucky where the gossip is as hot as the

coffee is served at the Bean Hive Coffee Shop!

One

Drip, drip, drip.

There is something about coffee that brings people together. And they don’t even have to like coffee. Is it the smell? Is it the comforting sound of the drip? I don’t know. All I did know was that my new coffee shop in the touristy lake town of Honey Springs, Kentucky, The Bean Hive, was opened for business.

“Seven a.m.,” I muttered after I’d glanced up at the clock and drew my eyes back out the front doors of the coffeehouse located in the best spot on the boardwalk that ran along Lake Honey Springs.

The boardwalk held fond memories for me since I used to spend my summers here with my Aunt Maxine. Maxi for short. For the past year my life was stalled in a little bit of what I’d call a fork in the road, so after hearing Aunt Maxi talk about all the revitalization of the boardwalk and not really knowing what to do, it sounded like a splendid idea to open a shop. At the time.

The annual Honey Festival was in a couple of days and all the vendors and the new shops on the boardwalk were holding a grand opening. I’d already had the coffeehouse ready to open since when I moved to Honey Springs a few weeks ago, I made it a point to no longer sit around resting on my laurels, so I opened the shop a few days early. Which might not’ve been the best business plan since my only customers had been a few stragglers here and there. Mainly construction workers who were working day and night to get the shops ready for the big festival.

The Bean Hive was located in the middle of the boardwalk, right across from the pier. It was a perfect spot and I was beyond thrilled with the exposed brick walls and wooden ceiling beams that I didn’t have to touch. Luckily, Aunt Maxi owned the place. The rent was a little steep, but I’d watched a few DIY videos on YouTube to figure out how to make the necessary repairs for inspection. I couldn’t be more pleased with the shiplap wall I’d created myself out of plywood painted white to make it look like real shiplap.

Instead of investing in a fancy menu or even menu boards that attached to the wall, I’d bought four large chalkboards that hung down from the ceiling over the L-shaped glass countertop.

The first chalkboard menu hung over the pie counter and listed the pies and cookies with their prices. The second menu hung over the tortes and quiches. The third menu before the L-shaped counter curved listed the breakfast casseroles and drinks. Over top the other counter the chalkboard listed lunch options, including soups, and catering information.

On each side of the counter was a drink stand. One was a coffee bar with six industrial thermoses with different blends of my specialty coffees as well as one filled with a decaffeinated blend, even though I clearly never understood the concept of that. But Aunt Maxi made sure I understood some people only drink the unleaded stuff. The coffee bar had everything you needed to take a coffee with you. Even an honor system where you could pay and go.

The drink bar on the opposite end of the counter was a tea bar. Hot tea, cold tea. There was a nice selection of gourmet teas and loose leaf teas along with cold teas. I’d even gotten a few antique tea pots from Wild and Whimsy Antique shop, which happened to be the first shop on the boardwalk. If a customer came in and wanted a pot of hot tea, I could fix it for them or they could fix their own to their taste.

A few café tables dotted the inside along with two long window tables with stools butted up to them on each side of the front door. It was a perfect spot to sit, enjoy the beautiful Lake Honey Springs and sip on your favorite beverage.

Which just so happened to be where I was sitting this morning enjoying the view until I realized I’d been here since four a.m. to get the casseroles made and coffees brewed before the opening time of seven a.m. and no one was here.

“You did open a little early,” I said to make myself feel better and hooked my finger in the mug of freshly brewed coffee.

Curling both hands around the mug, I leaned my hip up against the counter and took a sip. Even if no one showed up today, it was better than where I was a year ago. My chin lifted as the first rays of sunshine popped through the large front windows. I closed my eyes and let the breaking of the dawn fill my soul.

It was spring in Kentucky and the leaves were starting to get their deep green color back, filling in the tree line along the lake. A few fishing boats had trolled by since it was a no wake zone. Good fishing started around five a.m. around here and they were usually back by seven. At the far end of the pier was a marina with boat slips and a really neat little restaurant, The Watershed. It was probably the fanciest restaurant in Honey Springs.

With my mug in my hands, I decided to get a whiff of the fresh air.

The bell dinged over the front door when I opened it. Cool air swept in reminding me that spring in Kentucky was cold in the morning and hot in the afternoon. Dressing was always a problem, but with the few uniform pieces I’d picked to go with my black pants and sensible shoes I’d handle the change easily. Besides, the black apron with The Bean Hive logo was amazing and I’d gotten several of those.

Today I’d decided on the thin long-sleeved crew neck and had tied the apron over it.

Since there wasn’t anyone in the coffeehouse, I’d decided to stroll to the right of the coffeehouse on the boardwalk and do a little window shopping, even though most of them weren’t opening until the grand opening this weekend. I walked all the way to the end and looked as I made my way back, enjoying my cup of coffee and the morning sunrise as it dripped in many colors in the lake. It was funny how water could turn the orange and yellow rays different colors as it mirrored in the lake.

The shops were really coming along. All the shops were butted next to each other with a different awning to boast the name of the shop. Every few feet there were a couple of café tables where visitors could shop and stop to enjoy each other or just the view the boardwalk gave.

Wild and Whimsy was the first shop on the boardwalk. It was an eclectic shop of antiques and repurposed furniture. Beverly and Dan Teagarden were the owners. Their two grown children, Savannah and Melanie helped them run it. Instead of the regular shingled roof, Dan had paid extra to put on a rusty tin roof to go with the store’s theme. They’d kept the awning a red color but without the name. The Wild and Whimsy sign dangled down from the awning.

Honey Comb Salon & Spa was located next and it was a fancy, for Honey Springs, salon. Alice Dee Spicer was the owner and from what I’d overheard through the gossip line Alice had really gotten some new techniques from a fancy school.

Next to Honey Comb Salon & Spa was the Buzz In and Out Diner owned by James Farley. Honey Springs’s very first tattoo parlor, Odd Ink, was next to the diner. I wasn’t sure who owned that. In fact, I didn’t know any of the owners. It was all just idle gossip from Mae Belle and Bunny’s morning coffee run that kept me in the know. They’d also said All About The Details, a new event center, was going in next to the tattoo place along with a bridal shop, Queen For The Day. Then there was me.

The Bean Hive.

The bait and tackle shop was the only shop that was on the pier. It was perfect for the tourists who wanted to fish for the day off the pier. They’d never closed like most of the past shops since the lake always had fishermen. This year was different.

The annual Honey Festival was also in a couple of days, hence the grand opening of the shops, and it did bring visitors far and wide to get a good sampling of our fine Kentucky honey and festival activities. This year the town council, of which my Aunt Maxi sits on the board, decided to move the festival from Central Park in downtown Honey Springs to the boardwalk. Vendors were going to be setting up along the boardwalk across from the shops. I was especially excited to purchase some fresh honey and honeycombs for the coffeehouse.

I’d yet to venture past my shop, but I did know there was some sort of clothing boutique, a knick-knack shop, a spa, a bar and at the very end was Crooked Cat Bookstore, which was an independent bookstore I’d spent many hours in during my summer visits. I fondly remembered a cat that snuggled up to me in the bean bag.

The smell of fresh coffee drifted out of the coffeehouse exactly how I’d envisioned it would. The warm scent filled me with joy where I wasn’t sure I could have joy anymore.

When I opened the door to head back in, I smiled. The Bean Hive was a dream only a year ago and now a reality; I’d created it in my head and had worked hard to make the dream become real. After I filled my cup again, I walked back into the kitchen to check the casseroles I’d put in the oven for the afternoon lunch. I only cooked one thing a day for breakfast and lunch. I baked several things for the customers to enjoy and take home. The Bean Hive was a coffeehouse, not a restaurant, but we all know that food goes well with teas and coffee. It was my way of offering something for everyone.

Today’s special was a sausage casserole that paired great with any flavor coffee or tea. Everything was made fresh, which made the coffeehouse fill with amazing, stomach rumbling aromas no one could refuse.

The bell over the door dinged. I rushed back in the dining area to greet the customer.

“I’m telling you something is wrong,” Bunny Bowowski waddled into The Bean Hive with her brown pocketbook hung in the croak of her arm. “She didn’t answer her phone all night last night.”

“You know, I was by there just around eight o’clock and I did notice the strangest thing.” Mae Belle Donovan stopped just inside the door and put her hand on Bunny’s forearm. “You know those little plug-in candles that are in each one of her windows?”

“Do I?” Bunny rolled her eyes. “We downright got into a fight over them candles. In July of last year I told her that it was not Christmas and she needed to take them things down. In fact, it was hotter than a firecracker, not nary a thought of snow. She said it was decoration.”

“Good morning, ladies.” I greeted them like I’d done the past two mornings around this time.

According to Aunt Maxi, Bunny Bowowski and Mae Belle Donovan never left the house unless they were dressed in a dress, a shawl or coat (depending on the weather) and some sort of hat that sat on their heads like a bow as if it were completing the package.

They’d been friends for so long, they even resembled each other. Both had the exact same haircut, their grey hair was parted to the side and cut at chin length. They both carried a brown pocketbook that was perfectly held in the crook of their right elbow. Both were on the beautification committee. They came down every morning to get a look at the boardwalk to make sure everything was progressing right on schedule.

“Good morning to you.” Bunny nodded and began to walk up to the counter. “Those are lovely daffodils.”

“Thank you.” I scooted them over to the right a little more so I could get a good view of my two customers. “Aren’t they the most vibrant yellow you’ve ever seen?”

“Mmhmmm.” Her brows formed a V.

“I got them at the farmer’s market when I picked out my fresh produce and fruit. And this,” I tapped the vase, very proud of my find, “I found this for one dollar at Wild and Whimsy.”

“They do have some steals for an antique store.” She rotated the clear hourglass vase that had a tin top and a round hole where the flowers went. She ran her finger along etched flowers in the glass. “You certainly got a bargain.”

“Yes. I was very pleased.” I pushed back a strand of my wavy black hair.

Wavy was a loose term for the springy naturally curly hair my head seemed to sprout as soon as water touched it. No matter how much I had it straightened, tried to straighten or even hide in a ponytail, a stray strand of hair sprung out from somewhere.

I glanced toward Mae Belle.

They weren’t the spriest of women, but they certainly got around just fine.

“Hi do.” Mae Belle gave a slight bow. “Something smells delicious.”

“You are just in time for my country sausage casserole.” I pointed to the glass pan I’d just taken out of the oven.

The melted cheese was still bubbling around the edges where it’d not cooled off yet.

“I’m letting it cool off so I can cut nice thick slices.” I found it was best to let a dish cool for around ten minutes to not only set the casserole, but to let the flavors deepen and simmer within the ingredients. “If you’d like to have a cup of coffee while you wait for a slice of the casserole, I’d love to get you some.”

“Oh, Roxanne, you do know us don’t you.” Bunny gave a theatrical wink. She pointed to one of the few café tables I had provided for the customers. “We’ll go on over there.”

I leaned way over the counter and whispered like I had a grand secret, “You can call me Roxy. All my friends do.”

“Roxy with the amazing eyes.” Bunny winked. “You do have beautiful blue eyes.”

“Thank you.” I smiled, grateful for the comment.

I poured two ceramic coffee mugs with The Bean Hive’s own highlander grog and set them on a small round tray along with one of the silver cow cream pitchers I’d gotten on sale at Wild and Whimsy. Most of the china and silver I’d bought for The Bean Hive was from there, since the old things go great with the exposed brick walls, wood pallet furniture and big comfy chairs I’d used to decorate the shop, as well as the old tin signs and the chalkboard menus that hung above the counter.

“Roxy.” A big smile curled up on her face. “Now that’s a name with character.”

“That’s what I hear.” I chuckled and excused myself where I retreated into the kitchen.

For the last year, I’d gotten up way before the rooster crowed, so to speak, which was about four a.m. around these parts. Only I hadn’t been in these parts. Only recently had I moved back to Honey Springs. I’m not sure if it was to get away from the life I’d left behind due to my divorce or if I needed a little bit of familiarity or comfort. Regardless, I’m what I’d like to call a retired lawyer even at the young age of thirty. Retired because after my divorce, I hated lawyers. It was then that I’d listened to all that junk about following your passion. Doing what you love. Life is too short, yada-yada. One four a.m. morning, I couldn’t sleep and fixed myself a cup of coffee. It was then and there that I decided I wanted to go to barista school and I’ve never looked back.

“The shops are looking great,” I called over my shoulder on the way back to the kitchen to check the rest of the casseroles before I stuck the lunch ones in.

“We are pleased as peaches on how Cane Contractors has really stayed on schedule.” I heard Bunny say after I walked through the door into the kitchen.

Cane Contractors. A lump formed in my throat at the sound of the name. It was very hard to swallow. I shook my head to make the thought go away.

“What on earth?” I looked at the convection oven with the morning sausage casseroles in it and noticed the digital buttons weren’t lit up.

I hit the oven button and nothing. I opened the oven door. The casseroles were still running and lumpy. I stuck my hand in the oven and it was cold. Not a lick of heat.

“Great,” I groaned and hurriedly took out a couple of the four casseroles I had in there and moved them to the other convection oven next to it where I crammed them in with the lunch quiches. “This is going to have to work.” I gulped knowing it probably wasn’t going to work since both of them required different cooking temperatures.

I headed back out to the shop and grabbed my cell phone out of the pocket of my apron and dialed my aunt Maxine.

“Aunt Maxi, I’m so glad you answered.” My rapidly beating heart settled down after I’d heard the comforting sound of her voice.

“This better be good,” the tone in her voice wasn’t happiness. “I need my beauty sleep. I’m on the prowl ya know.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Prowl. My aunt was in her mid-sixties and widowed. Widowed at a young age too. But as far as I knew, she was happily single.  “Listen, can you hurry down to the shop and grab some of the lunch quiches for me and put them in your oven to bake?” I asked.

“You didn’t call a handyman yet?” She let me know that she’d warned me several times after I’d bought the place how the previous owner of the restaurant had undercooked food and eventually got shut down by the Health Department.

“No,” I muttered, knowing I really should’ve listened to her but the cost was something I wasn’t able to afford right now. “I was trying to wait until this first week was open and then I’d hire one.”

“I’m going to say I told you so, just because I can say I told you so and you won’t give no sass back. I told you so,” she said in a playful voice. “I’ll be right over.”

“Thank you so much. I love you and I know you love me.” A sigh of relief escaped me.

There weren’t too many times Aunt Maxi didn’t save me. In fact, the reason I’d come back to Honey Springs was due to her. I love my mom but she seemed to hover around me when I’d gone home to Lexington after my divorce. Aunt Maxi had lived in Honey Springs all her life and she was my dad’s sister. Unfortunately, he’d died of cancer years ago. I’d spend summers here with Aunt Maxi and the cozy town had become a second home to me.

I loved the small shops scattered throughout the town. But the boardwalk and pier were my favorite spots in Honey Springs. Aunt Maxi owned a few rental properties, The Bean Hive being one as well as Crooked Cat Bookstore plus a couple residential places. Unfortunately for me, she didn’t have any houses available, so I bought a pretty run-down cabin alongside the lake and only a four-minute bike ride from the coffeehouse.

It was a perfect place to live, but needed a few upgrades. Still, it was mine and I loved every part of it, even the broken ones.

“Are you ladies ready for your slice of country sausage casserole?” I asked and sliced into the warm casserole, plating two nice sized pieces on two lattice, milk glass plates. “Here you go.” I set a plate down in front of each of them.

“This looks amazing, Roxy.” Bunny leaned over the plate. She closed her eyes and inhaled. “And smells delicious.”

There was nothing as satisfying to me as seeing someone who enjoyed something I’d made with my hands.

“Thank you.” I took a step back and put my hands in a prayer position up in front of my face. “I’m honored. I hope you enjoy the taste too.”

“I’m sure we will,” she said.

Mae Belle didn’t have to say anything. She’d already dug in and was on her third bite.

I walked over to the door not only to see if Aunt Maxi was on her way, but to see if there was anyone walking along the boardwalk who I could offer a free coffee to. Even if some of the construction workers were employed by Cane, there was a lot of construction going on and even they had to eat or at least warm up with a coffee. My eyes scanned the workers to make sure I didn’t see anyone I knew from my past summers here. There was a bit of satisfaction and a bit of sadness when I didn’t recognize any of them. It was probably a good thing.

“You’ve outdone yourself with this one,” Mae Belle called from behind me and forced me to come back out of my memories that were good and bad.

“Thank you so much.” I stared down the boardwalk where a tall, lean man with a yellow hardhat on was standing next to the new beauty salon and spa.

He had a set of plans rolled out in front of him. A couple of men on each side of him were looking at the plans. They nodded and spoke with each other. The early morning chill had yet to give way to the spring afternoon weather. I knew the spa was going to open along with most of the other shops before the annual spring Honey Festival in hopes that’d bring the tourists we needed to revitalize the sleepy town. That was one of the reasons I’d moved back. The fond memories of lazy days spent on the pier and watching all the people going in and out of the shops outweighed the only bad memory I’d had. Those days had been long gone and now I was going to do my part to help bring it back.

Not only did the Honey Springs economy need it, I needed it to help restore my soul.

“Are you two okay?” I asked on my way back to the counter.

They nodded and went back to discussing their friend who apparently hadn’t shown up for a meeting or something.

I grabbed a thermos that could hold six cups of coffee and stuck it under the Bunn Industrial coffee maker to fill. While it filled up, I grabbed a few to-go cups. I ran a finger over the cute The Bean Hive logo I’d designed. It was fun to see the bee that had a coffee bean for a body come to life on the materials I’d had printed for merchandise as well as on marketing materials.

The bell over the door dinged and I looked up.

“Alexis Roarke,” Bunny greeted the petite blonde. “We were just discussing where you’ve been.”

“You have,” Alexis Roarke wore her blond hair in a conservative nature with a bob cut just beneath her ears and straight across bangs. She had on pair of tennis shoes, khakis, and a pull over hoodie with the Honey Springs logo on it.

“I even went by your house and your decorative candles weren’t even lit up.” Mae Belle eyed her suspiciously.

“Why, Mae Belle Donovan,” Alexis drew her hands up to her chest. “You do care about me.”

“Of course, we do.” Bunny pushed back the only extra chair at their café table. “Sit.” She patted the seat. “Where have you been?”

Alexis waved her off and was content standing next to the table.

“I don’t have time to sit. I’ve got to open the shop. Maxine Bloom is at it again,” she said my aunt’s name with exhaustion. “Raising the rent on the bookstore. I’m gonna have to stop volunteering at the Pet Palace.”

“Why? Because you volunteer with Maxine?” Bunny asked and sipped on her coffee.

“No. So I can keep the bookstore open an extra day. I close early on Fridays so I can go volunteer. No more.” She shook her head. She pointed at me and shook her finger. “I hear you are Maxine’s niece.”

“You hear right.” I offered a warm smile in hopes she didn’t hold it against me that my aunt Maxine was her landlord. “Did I also hear you say that you are the owner of Crooked Cat Bookstore?”

“I am.” Her eyes narrowed as though she was sizing me up.

“I have fond memories of your bookstore when I used to come visit during the summer.” A happy sigh escaped me. “I remember sitting in that big purple bean bag that was in the front window next to the cat tree. You had that little grey cat and that amazing banned book section.”

“I’ll be. I remember your eyes.” A smile formed and reached her eyes. They twinkled as though the memory was bright. “That’s when Maxine and I got along. She’d bring you in there while she was doing her property rounds and tell you to read books. I knew I was watching you.”

“I believe my love of reading stems from you and all the time I spent in your store.” I pointed to the coffee maker. “Can I get you a cup of coffee? On the house.”

“Ours wasn’t,” Mae Belle grumbled under her breath.

“I’d love one to go. And give me one of them cake doughnuts.” She pulled her chin to the side, and tilted her eyes over her shoulder as she enjoyed the look on Mae Belle’s face.

With the to-go cup of coffee and The Bean Hive bag filled with a doughnut, she bid her friends goodbye.

“I’ll see y’all at the town council meeting tomorrow. I’ve got a few things to say about this zoning thing and Maxine Bloom.” She skirted out of the shop.

Mae Belle and Bunny put their heads together and both tried to whisper above the other. I figured it was a good time to take the workers the coffee.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to run some coffee down to the workers.” I held the thermos up along with the cups.

The sun was popping up over the trees that stood along the lake like soldiers and filtered over the calm water of the lake. There were a couple of small bass boats running side-by-side with a couple of men in them, probably looking for a good inlet to bass fish.

The wood boards of the boardwalk groaned underneath each step I took as I got closer to the group of men.

“Good morning,” I greeted them. “I’m Roxanne Bloom, owner of The Bean Hive.” I gestured toward the coffee shop. “I’ve made all this coffee and only a few customers have come in.” I left out the fact that I’d only had the same two customers all week long. “And I’d hate to see this fresh coffee go to waste, so I thought I’d bring it to y’all.”

“That’s mighty nice of you.” The tall man grinned from under the hardhat. He kept his eyes on the thermos.

One of the men took the cups out of my hand while another one took the thermos.

“We appreciate that, don’t we boys?” The man’s deep voice echoed off the limestone banks of the lake. The glare of the sun reflecting off the lake made it difficult to see his face.

The men thanked me.

“If y’all get hungry, I also serve food.” I smiled and clasped my hands in front of me. I was definitely trying to use the old saying that a way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. Not that I was trying to get into any of their hearts, I wasn’t, but I was trying to get to their stomachs and their wallets. “Enjoy.”

“We will. And we will return your thermos,” the man said before he went back to pointing out things about the spa.

It was my cue to head on back. They had work to do and so did I.

“Hello, honey.” Aunt Maxi was leaning her bike up against the outside of the shop. She pulled off her knit cap. She tucked the hat in the purse that was strapped across her body and pulled out a can of hairspray. She raked her hand upward through her hair and used her other hand to spray it to high heaven. “You know, you need to get a bike rack.”

“I do need a bike rack, but I also need to get a new oven or have this one looked at.” I opened the door for her and let her walk in before me. “New hair color since yesterday?”

She gave the newly blond-colored hair another good spray before she stuck the can back in her purse and started toward the door.

“Alice Dee down at the Honey Comb says it’s all the rage. Makes me feel young as a whippersnapper.” She turned to me. The morning sun sprinkled down upon her.

I shook my head and realized having her bike up against the coffeehouse was probably not a good place for it to lean in case someone tripped over it.

Most of the community rode bikes everywhere since Honey Springs was a small, compact town that took pride in their landscape and Kentucky bluegrass that made the entire town look like a fancy landscape painting.

“You look a little like Phyllis Diller.” And it wasn’t just the hair. Aunt Maxi had put on a little too much makeup

“Well, well. If it’s not Maxine Bloom.” Bunny Bowowski didn’t seem all that happy to see Aunt Maxi. “And with a new hairdo.”

“You’ll serve just about anybody.” Aunt Maxi curled her nose at me.

“You two know each other?” I asked, hoping to bring a little peace between us.

“Know her?” Bunny scoffed. “She’s been down at the Moose trying to get her claws into Floyd, my man.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Bunny. I want a man that can walk without stopping every two feet so he can get his footing up under him so he don’t fall.” Aunt Maxi drew her chin in the air and looked down her nose. “Besides, that’s not what’s got you all worked up.”

“Aunt Maxi is why I’ve come to Honey Springs.” I patted my aunt on the back. “I used to come here when I was a child and spent many summers here. Right here in this very spot when it was the diner. I loved being here so much, that I decided to move here and open The Bean Hive.”

I hoped that their mutual like for me would at least bring them together. The last thing I needed was my only two paying customers to boycott me because of Aunt Maxi.

“We will see you tomorrow, Roxy.” Bunny stood up and motioned for Mae Belle to follow. “We’ve got committee stuff to do.”

The three women gave each other the Baptist nod where they didn’t wish ill-will but not necessarily success. The southern woman’s way around good manners.

“Glad they’re gone.” Aunt Maxi spouted out and walked to the back of the shop. She put her hands on her hips and looked around. “This looks good,” she said in approval. “Many customers?”

“Nope, you just ran off the only two I’ve had since I opened.” I gave her a wry look. “Cup of coffee?”

“I can’t. I’ve got to get your casseroles and head to a meeting. It’s hard being a councilwoman.” Aunt Maxi had held the office for over thirty years and was very proud of it. “That’s why old Bunny is all mad. She and her group of cronies think that just because we are in craft group together that I’ll just let them do whatever they want regarding the festivals and the beautification committee.”

Apparently Aunt Maxi didn’t agree on something in their meeting. Didn’t surprise me. Aunt Maxi wasn’t one to go along with the crowd when she was passionate about something. There were two things I knew not to get into with others: Politics and religion. Around here both were just as important as a new born baby, wedding, or a funeral. “They aren’t too worried about whatever it is that you’ve made them mad about. They are worried about one of their friends.”

“Who?” Aunt Maxi perked up and walked on my heels on our way back to the kitchen.

“I don’t know. I can’t remember her name. She actually came in.” I grabbed the two lunch quiches I’d taken out of the oven earlier and wrapped them in tinfoil, pinching the sides as tight as I could. “She owns Crooked Cat.”

“Alexis Roarke.” Aunt Maxi groaned.

I laughed and stacked the two quiches. “She said that you two are fond of each other.”

“Don’t get me started on her because I don’t come with brakes.” Aunt Maxi picked up the quiches. “You know those left-over doughnuts you gave me yesterday?”

“Yes. What about them?” I asked.

“I took them to her last night. Sort of a peace offering,” Aunt Maxi said. “She was just fine. So there’s no need to worry about her. Those women love to worry. If they aren’t gossiping or worried about someone, they’re dead.”

“They were happy to see her and that she was okay.” I was just about to ask her about Alexis’s claim that Aunt Maxi was going to raise the rent, but the bell over the shop door dinged, alerting me that someone had come in.

Aunt Maxi and I looked.

“Good morning, Maxine.” The man I’d taken coffee to took off his hardhat with his left hand, his right gripped the thermos.

“Good to see you.” Aunt Maxi’s joy of seeing the man was evident all over her face. Even her eyes tipped up in the corners with giddiness.

“I wanted to thank you for the coffee. My men appreciate your kindness.” His features were familiar. His big brown eyes were warm and matched the tender smile.

“I’m glad to see the two of you have mended ways. You know I believe everything happens for a reason.” Aunt Maxi walked over to the door as she recited her favorite saying. “I’ll have these back to you in a couple of hours. See you later, Patrick.”

Patrick? I took a deeper look at the man standing in front of me. Patrick Cane? I looked a little deeper. Patrick Cane.

My heart sank.